


A Broken Child

by Lady_FoxFire



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 22:24:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 50,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1165277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_FoxFire/pseuds/Lady_FoxFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when Harry's mind snaps. Can he recover?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this fic back in 2001

Under the cover of darkness, a solitary figure crept as silently as a shadow up the pathway leading to the house at number four, Privet Drive. 

The figure lone loomed over locked front door, before pausing to reach inside his clothing and pull out a long sender stick of polished wood that glinted from the streetlights. With a few simple movements of the wrist, the lock uttered a soft click and the door swung opened silently, inviting the gaunt figure inside. Looking around quickly, the man slipped across the threshold, pulling the door closed with a gentle click behind him. 

The intruder swept his searching eyes across the darkened room before him, before slinking silently to the second floor. 

At each door he passed, the man stopped briefly and noiselessly pressed his ear against the door, trying to listen for any sound from within that might indicate whether the residents were awake. Fortunately, the only sounds that could be heard from beyond were the loud snoring of Vernon and Dudley's pig like snouts.

At last, the man arrived at the door of the smallest bedroom in the house. His eyes flickered angrily over the five dead bolt locks that guarded the menacing steel door. Extracting his wand from within the folds of his long cloak, the man muttered a quiet word under his breath, causing the locks click open, one after another, until the door swung effortlessly open with a slight creak. The gaunt figure peered anxiously back at the closed bedroom doors of the Dursley family before stepping into the darkened room.

"Harry," the man called out carefully with false cheer in his voice. "Its me, Sirius. Your one and only godfather come to rescue you. Wake up, Harry." 

Sirius waited with baited breath for a reply that never came. Nothing penetrated the deafening silence that hung heavily around him like a lurking spirit. Sirius grasped the doorknob tightly and silently pulled the door closed, throwing him into absolute darkness.

"Lumos!" he whispered.

The room was soon filled with a soft pale light that glowed from the tip of his outstretched wand. 

Sirius's jaw dropped at the condition of Harry's bedroom. The window through which Harry had once escaped had been completely bricked up, leaving the air within stale and heavy. The massive piles of Dudley’s broken toys and the little furniture that had, according to Harry, decorated the room in years past had vanished, leaving only scuffmarks on the dust covered wooden floor. The only thing that remained in the bedroom was a battered old rusting brass bed frame, upon which Harry laid, covered in a single dingy sheet.

"Harry?" Black called out with concern in his voice as he approached the bed. "Wake up, Harry."

Harry remained motionless on the bed as he continued to lie under a thin dirty sheet. 

Sirius looked down on this godson’s prone form with an audible gasp full of horror that resounded through the empty room. He stared in shock at the collection of bruises and welts that covered the child's once lively face. His eyes traced the path of the thin tickle of blood ran from Harry's mouth. 

The anger that had begun to boil deep within the gaunt wizard raged upward at the sight of eyes that had once mirrored Lily’s. Harry's normally bright green eyes were open, but they were now dulled to a grayish color as he stared with a vacant expression off into space.

"Harry?" Sirius prompted as he reached out and gently touched the child on the shoulder.

Harry flinched at the slight touch, his eyes never changing as they continued to gaze at nothing.

Licking his lips nervously Black reached out and slowly pulled the filthy sheet off his godson. "Oh, sweet Merlin! What did those monsters do to you, Harry?" Sirius whispered in shock and horror as he stared upon his godson's cruelly battered naked body. 

Harry's unnaturally pallid and emaciated body was obscured with a myriad of countless bruises, welts, cuts, and burn marks. A heavy metal chain ran from the rusted bedpost to his limp left arm that was twisted at an unnatural angle. And in between his spread legs was an ominous trail of blood.

Sirius quickly closed his eyes filled with tears of grief and anger, before turning from the sight as he fought the bitter bile rising up the back of his throat. Taking a deep shuddering breath, he whirled slowly back to his battered godson. 

"Don't worry, Harry; I'm going to get you out of here. And when you're safe, I'll come back to deal with them," he growled with disgust and hate clearly evident in his voice. 

Working quickly and quietly, Sirius freed his godson from the heavy chain, exposing the bloody mess on his wrist from him fighting to escape.

Placing the dirty sheet back over Harry's nude figure, Sirius carefully lifted Harry off the bed, only to stop when Harry began to whimper quietly in pain. 

"Shit!" Sirius snarled under his breath. "What else did those monsters do to you?"

Sirius ran a hand through his dark matted hair as he gazed with anguish at the broken body of his godson. "I'm going to try something, Harry," he explained quietly, "I'm going to try to float you out of this… this house." Taking a deep breath, Sirius brandished his wand in the air. "Wingardum Leivosa."

Slowly the bedding began to rise into the air, carrying Harry with it. 

After making sure Harry was tucked safely inside of the sheets Sirius led Harry’s pale form out of that room of torture and finally away from the last of his relatives.


	2. Chapter 2

Closing and locking every door behind him, Sirius cautiously led the way for his godson, glancing back at the prone form in concern every few seconds. Once they were on the pathway, Black turned back to the house. "Soon." He growled at the darkened building. "I'll be back soon to deal with you. Soon." 

Quickly, Sirius led Harry through neighborhood, staying as far away as they could so from any house with lights on so they could go by unnoticed. Once they were far enough away from Privet Drive, Sirius led Harry's body into the shadows of a large oak. 

"I'm sorry it took us so long to get you someplace safe,” Sirius explained as he reached out and touched Harry's head gently. "I had to get us away from all the protection wards and anti-apparition spells surrounding you neighborhood first." 

Sirius barely could hear Harry whimper under his touch. With a sigh his hand dropped to his side. "We're going to Hogwarts, now. They'll be able to help you there. Madam Pomfrey will make you better. I promise. You'll be all better soon."

With that, Sirius pulled out his wand and said a few words, before the two disappeared from sight.

 

~*~

 

The early morning sunlight was just beginning to creep into the Great Hall as Professor Snape sat alone at the head table eating his breakfast. 

Every so often he would glance up and glare at the handful of cheery students as they wolfed down their breakfast in the Great Hall while endlessly chatting. "I hate mornings,” he grumbled to himself as he pushed around his cold uneaten food with his fork.

The sound of barking echoed down the halls. Snape looked up from his plate just as a huge black hound burst into the hall, barking and howling madly. 

Many of students seized their wands as they watched the Grim-like beast race past them towards the head table. Skidding to a halt next to Snape, the dog took hold of Snape's robe with its teeth and tried to tug the professor out of his seat.

"Let go!" Snape snapped angrily at the animal as he yanked the fabric from the dog’s unrelenting jaws. 

The dog let out a yip at the man, before turning and taking a few steps away from him. Looking back, the hound saw Snape remain sitting in his chair and returned to the Potion Master. The animal whimpered and whined at Snape's feet, before turning around again and taking a few steps towards the door, only to stop and look once again at the Potion Master.

'Black?' Snape mouthed the words in surprise. Black seeing this yips once again, and then turned and ran towards the door with Snape at his feet. 

Snape swept past the wide-eyed students as he followed the hound. He stopped and turned on the students who were attempting to follow him. "You will stay here and inform the Headmaster or Professor McGonagall as soon as they arrive," Snape ordered.

The hound led Snape to the ancient oak doors of Hogwarts, where it whimpered as the animal scratched the door begging to be left out. Snape glared down at Black, "This had better be important," he snipped in his snotty superior voice as he opened the doors.

Sirius slipped through as soon as they were ajar. He padded a few feet away from the door and turned back toward Snape who stood in the doorway. Sirius pawed the ground and barked at Severus to follow. 

"Alright, I'm coming!" Snape called in reply as he pulled the door shut behind him. The dog turned and ran for a clump of trees near the path at lead to Hogsmeade. "Stupid mutt," Snape grumbled as he followed is former foe.

 

~*~

 

At the clump of trees Sirius whimpers and whines for Snape to hurry up. "What do you want, Black?" Snape snapped as he glared venomously at the hound.

In an instant Sirius was back into his human form. "Severus! You’ve got to help me! They hurt him badly." Everything came rushing out as Black gripped Snape arms in desperation.

Prying Black's hands off of him in disgust. "What are you talking about?" Snape snarled.

"It's Harry!" Black exclaimed as he grabbed Snape and pulled over to an ancient pine tree. Taking out his wand, Black called Harry's body from the hiding place among the limbs of the tree.

"Sweet Merlin," Severus whispered in astonishment as he laid his eyes upon the boy.


	3. Chapter 3

The Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was buzzing with gossip. The students whispered among themselves about the huge black dog and Professor Snape’s strange behavior. 

"Do you think it was Snuffles?" Ron asked Hermione around a mouthful of food.

Hermione sighed exasperatedly as she watched the redhead voraciously shovel huge forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth as if he had not eaten in a month. "Ron, in the future could you please..." 

But before Hermione could finish her statement, Professor Snape stormed into the Great Hall, his robes flapping behind him like the immense wings of a raven. 

Conversations hushed abruptly as one by one, the students noticed their Potion Master's entry. One by one they turned in their seats as they watched Snape stalk past them and march up to the head table. His fellow professors turned in their seat as Snape walked around the table and behind them until he reached the Headmaster; their faces betraying their concern as they observed the Potions Master bend over and whisper something into the wizened Headmaster's ear.

Dumbledore's face grew grim. With a nod of his head, he stood and faced his students. "Attention please," he beckoned, gazing at the sea of students assembled in the hall. "Due to an emergency, all students are to report to their common rooms immediately. Prefects, please inform the Head of your House if any student is missing."

The Great Hall was as eerily silent as the echoes of Dumbledore's announcement gradually faded. Then suddenly as if someone had released a valve, the room erupted into chaotic cacophony as everyone began to gather their belongings and move to their towers. The question on everyone's tongue was “what was the emergency?”

"I bet it concerns…."

"…Potter wasn't…."

"Maybe it's that mad man..."

"…Black or it's about You-Know…"

Hermione and Ron fought against the river of students flowing out the door as they waded towards the head table. "Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione inquired when they had finally reached the Headmaster.

Dumbledore turned and peered grimly down at the two children, the twinkle that normally resided in his eyes missing. Laying a hand upon each of their shoulders, he gently turned them around. "Not now. Once I have any news, I'll tell you," he assured kindly as he shooed them toward their tower.

"Minerva," the Headmaster called as he watched Weasley and Granger join the other students as they exited the hall. "Make sure those two are in the Gryffindor tower tonight personally, then please join me in the Hospital Wing." 

"I understand, Albus," McGonagall assented with a nod. "But won't you tell us what this emergency is?"

Dumbledore shocked his head, as he chewed on his bottom lip in thought. "Not yet, my friend. Not yet. For the safety of all in this school, I must first discover how bad it truly is." With that said, Dumbledore swept silently out of the Great Hall.

 

~*~

 

Effortlessly, Dumbledore opened the massive courtyard door to the Hogwarts grounds and waited. 

Within a few minutes, a huge black grim-like hound bounded across the open lawn with a grimy, white form floating closely behind. The dog skidded to halt just a few feet from the headmaster. It peered up anxiously at the old wizard, a strangely human expression of worry in its eyes.

"Welcome back, Sirius," Dumbledore greeted as he stepped aside so that the huge black dog and floating body of Harry Potter could enter. "I just wish it were under better circumstances."

Dumbledore gazed down at the boy’s sleeping face. The purpling bruises stood out lividly against his pallid skin. “If I had known, I would have taken him out of that house long ago.” Dumbledore muttered, more to himself than anyone else as they strode down the empty halls towards the Hospital Wing. “All the owls he had sent gave the impression that things were fine. I should have checked on him.”


	4. Chapter 4

"Poppy?" Dumbledore called for Madam Pomfrey as he opened the hospital wing doors.

"Right here, Professor." Pomfrey said as she stepped out from behind a curtain. "Not that dog again!" She exclaimed as Sirius trotted in as the black hound.

"Now Poppy, that's not important right now." Dumbledore said as Harry's body floated in behind Sirius.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes grew wide as the boy was lowered on to one of the beds. "Oh dear God, what happened to him?" she asked, stricken, as she stared down at Harry's bruised, sleeping face.

"His family," a deep, dangerous voice said.

Madam Pomfrey looked around for the owner of the dangerous voice. "Sirius Black!" Pomfrey's voice broke in terror at sight the insane, escaped murderer. Her wand shook like a leaf in a windstorm as she pointed it him. "I won't let you harm a hair on this boy's head!"

"Poppy, put your wand away," Dumbledore said with a small smile on his face at her plucky bravery.

"But Dumbledore, that's Sirius Black!" Madam Pomfrey said with disbelief in her voice. "He murdered thirteen people with one curse, and furthermore, he betrayed this boy's parents to You Know Who."

"He's an innocent man wrongfully charged," Dumbledore replied sternly.

"Innocent?" she squealed in disbelief.

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll explain everything to you later, Poppy. Right now he needs you more," he said with a nod towards Harry.

Pomfrey chewed on her bottom lip as she debated with herself the wisdom of trusting Black. "If you hurt on hair on any child at this school, you better hope you can get to the Dementors before I get my hands on you," Pomfrey said with stern look in her eyes as she lowered her wand.

"Yes, ma'am." Black replied meekly as he realized for the first time how dangerous Madam Pomfrey could be if her anger was aroused.

"Now why don't you explain to me what happened to this boy?" Pomfrey demanded as her lips curled back in disgust as she used her magic to peel back the filthy sheets surround the child, exposing his bruised and battered naked body.

"Over the break, everyone was receiving owls from Harry regular as clockwork. He was writing how bored he was, how he missed Hogwarts and that the Dursleys were actually treating him halfway decently this summer." Black began his tale as he sank down onto a bed next to Harry's. "I should have realized that something was wrong then. The Dursley have never treated him even halfway decently."

Sirius ran a hand through this long black hair. "His letters to me seemed cold, distant. I just figured it was Cedric's death that was affecting him. My guess is that they were forcing him to write them."

"Then a little over a week ago all the letters stopped, I didn't know what had happened. All Dumbledore could tell me was that my godson was still safe at their house."

"And to my knowledge he was, Sirius. There had been no change in their normal routine. As far as we could tell everything was normal inside that household." Dumbledore explained, more for Sirius's benefit than for Madam Pomfrey's.

Pomfrey made encouraging noises as she continued her examination of Harry.

With a weary sigh Black took up his story once again. "When I found out that Harry hadn't arrived at Hogwarts yet, I figured that it would be best if I did some investigating myself. When I found Harry he was chained to his bed. His eyes were opened but they… " Sirius's voice trailed off as he relived the moment in found his godson in that room.

"But what?" Madam Pomfrey asked gently.

Sirius looked up at her. His dark brown eyes were so filled with pain and confusion that her heart almost broke from the sight. "It was like he was dead inside but was still alive. He would just stare straight ahead and if you touched him, he would flinch as if he was afraid of you. He's never been afraid of me except when we first met after I escaped," Sirius explained, as his hands twisted his robes into knots.

"He finally fell asleep when we got to Hogwarts. He never said a word the whole time." Sirius stood up suddenly and began to pace the room nervously, stopping dead at the foot of Harry's bed. "I… I think they… I think they may have raped him," he struggled to get out as he gazed down upon his godson.

"Oh dear god," Pomfrey said as she sank down on a bed. "They raped him…" she said in a small voice.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling when he heard this news. "Sirius," he said softly, "I forbid you to return to Harry's aunt and uncle's house or to harm them in any way."

"WHAT?" Sirius roared at Dumbledore. "Look at what they did to him! Look at him! They should be dragged out into the streets and given to the Dementors!" He exclaimed in a fury.

Dumbledore looked Sirius right in the eye. "And right now, that boy need you more than he needs revenge. Or do you want to go and have your soul ripped out so that he has no one left."

Sirius closed his eyes and turned his face away from his old headmaster. "I can't even touch him with making him flinch." Sirius said, as a tear escaped his eye. "What good am I? I can't even protect my own godson."

Dumbledore laid a hand on Black's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "You're doing what you can Sirius. That all any of us can do."

"It's not enough. It's not enough." Sirius said as he wiped away his tears.

"It never is." Dumbledore said before turned back to Madam Pomfrey. " Poppy?"

"It's not good. He's got a number of broken bones, he's malnourished, concussed, he has internal injuries… The list just goes on," she explained as she brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. "But all that can be healed… my big concern is his mind. He's fled inside of it to escape the abuse and I don't know how to bring him out."

~*~

As Dumbledore stepped out of the hospital wing, he was confronted by Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid.

"Dumbledore, what's the emergency?" Hagrid asked, concern in his voice. "Does it have anything to do with Harry?"

"In a way it does," Dumbledore said to the huge, kindhearted man. "But what goes on here…."

At that moment, Sirius Black, lost in thought, stepped out of the hospital wing pulling the door shut behind him.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" Hagrid bellowed as he took a huge step past Dumbledore and grabbed Black by the neck. "I swore I would kill you with my bare hands, if I ever saw you again!" He said as he lifted Sirius off the floor by the neck.

Black's hands clawed at the hands holding his throat as he struggled for air. His legs kicked frantically in an efforts to find a purchase.

"I swore that I would get you for what you did to Lily, James and Harry," Hagrid growled as his hands tightened on Sirius' throat. Sirius gasped for breath as his fight lessened.

"Hagrid, let him go." Dumbledore said wearily.

"But?" Hagrid said in confusion.

"I said, LET HIM GO." Dumbledore said in a voice that left no room for argument.

Sirius dropped to the floor when Hagrid opened his hands. Sirius lay on the floor panting for breath, as he rubbed his bruised neck. "I didn't betray them," he gasped out as he leaned back against the wall.

"Liar!" Hagrid snarled with murder in his voice. "You were Lily and James' Secret-Keeper! You sold them out. You tried to kill Harry!"

"No, Hagrid, he's telling the truth," Dumbledore said sadly. "Peter Pettigrew was their Secret-Keeper. Sirius was just a decoy."

"But what about his attack on the Fat Lady and on Ron Weasley?" Professor McGonagall suddenly asked after watching what happened.

Sirius looked at McGonagall from his place on the floor. "I was trying to save my godson from Pettigrew."

"But he's dead. You kill…" McGonagall was saying when Black interrupted her.

"No, he isn't. He's an Animagus; to be exact, he's a rat. He's spent the past twelve years as the familiar of the Weasley family," Sirius explained wearily. "And if you don't believe me ask Ron, Hermione or even Remus."

"And what about Harry? Should we ask Harry about that too?" Hagrid asked when he realized that Black had neglected to mention him. "Where is Harry?" His eyes narrowed.

Sirius didn't answer; he just looked over at the closed hospital wing door, his eyes heartsick.

"What happened to Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked as her quick mind started to put things together.

"Right now he's in the able hands of Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said as he pulled everyone's attention away from the door. "And we have things to do in order to keep him safe. First, Minerva, I need you and Sererus to go collect Harry's things at his aunt and uncle's home. I don't want anyone in that house harmed in any way, is that understood?" Dumbledore said sternly.

"But…" Sirius started to say as Dumbledore turned to him

"Sirius, right now I need you to watch and guard Harry. I don't want anyone to know that he or you are here at Hogwarts. I'm going to prepare a room for you and Harry to stay in while he recovers." Dumbledore explained.

"What do you need me to do?" Hagrid asked innocently.

Dumbledore looked up at the kindhearted half-giant. "Right now, I want you to guard the hospital wing out here. I'm expecting Sererus and Minerva to return with a very sick owl if the state Harry's in is any indication. Now please get to work."


	5. Chapter 5

As the sun rose higher in to the sky over the house that sits at number four, Privet Drive the sound of a hippopotamus could be heard barreling through the house. "DAD! IT'S GONE!" Dudley shouted as he ran as fast as his fat little legs could carry him.

"What do you mean it's gone?" Vernon bellowed as he slammed him morning paper down on the table.

Dudley backed away nervously from his father. "It… it's gone, Dad," he stuttered. "I went upstairs to its room to play with it and it was gone."

Dudley quickly tried to flatten himself against the wall as his father marched out of the kitchen and stormed up the stairs. At the smallest bedroom, Vernon slammed opened the door with so much force that the house rang with the sound of the door crashing into the wall. The sound of furniture being overturned and doors being slammed could be heard coming from the small room.

When Vernon came out of the room his face was almost purple with rage. "Search the house. Everyplace. We'll teach it a lesson when we find it," he snarled to his wife and son.

"Do you think it made it to those freaks?" Petunia asked as she wrung a dishtowel in her hands. "If those freaks find out…"

"SHUT UP WOMAN!" Vernon snapped. "Start searching. It couldn’t have gotten far. And we still have it's pet to keep it in line."

The family began to search the house. Vernon took the upstairs. The sound of beds being moved and of door being thrown open rang in the house. Downstairs, Petunia started with the cupboard under the stairs and the living room. Meanwhile Dudley went for the kitchen and any extra food he could stuff into his piggy face. 

The Dursley were brought out of the search of their house by a knock at the door. Each of them crept from the area they were searching to stare at the door. Vernon licked his lips nervously as he came slowly walked down the stair, staring at the door the same time.

Another knock rang with the quiet house, and Petunia nudged her husbands towards the door. He turned his head and gave her an evil glare before facing the evil that lay outside his home. Vernon opened the door slowly afraid of what he might face outside. Was it the police, those freaks, or, God forbid, his nephew's godfather?

Vernon let out a shaking sigh of relief as he discovered what he was dreading was just a male and female team of door-to-door salesmen. Both were dressed in simple black dress shirts and slacks. The woman had her salt and pepper hair pulled back into a long braid while the man had his black hair tie in a ponytail. "Whatever you're trying to sell or preach, we don't want any," Vernon growled at them before slamming the door shut in their faces.

The woman stared at the door in surprise. "Well, that was unexpected," the woman said as she raised her fist and knocked on the door again.

The door swung open suddenly, Vernon snarled at the visitors, "I told you we don't want anything. So leave before I call the police," then slammed the door once again.

One of the woman's eyebrows rose as she stared at the door in disgust. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned to her partner. "Your turn," she said simply, as she stepped away from the door.

The man had a small, evil smile on his face as he pulled out a thin, long twig out of thin air.

WHOOOOFFFFFFF!!!!

The front door exploded into million of pieces. The Dursleys stood there in shock; their mouths hanging opened as they were pelted with bits and pieces of their former front door. The man and woman stepped into the house and looked at the gaping Dursleys in distaste.

The woman pulled out a wand, and with a simple flick of her wrist and a few words, the front door reappeared. The man turned to her with a curious look on his face. 

"Well, we couldn’t have their neighbors get curious, now could we?"

The man snorted in disgust at the woman for outthinking him.

Petunia's mouth opened. And closed. And opened again. And shut again. All without a sound coming out of it. "You're… You're…" finally squeaked out her mouth.

"Freaks!" Vernon snapped out in angry. Petunia whimpered in fright as she tried to hide her paunchy son behind her twiggy frame. It was a thoroughly futile effort, Dudley’s rolls of blubber stuck out on both sides of his mother.

"We're not here to harm you," the woman said gently as the man glared evilly at the family. "I'm Professor McGonagall and this is Professor Snape. We're here concerning Harry Potter." 

"He's not here," Vernon growled. "The useless git ran away soon after returning home. Took all his things, even that bloody bird and disappeared that night." He thrust out his chin and puffed out his chest as if he dared them to call him a liar in his own home.

"You really don't expect us to believe that," Snape replied, in a tone that sent shivers through Vernon.

"It's true," Petunia said in a voice squeaky with fright, worse than fingernails on a blackboard. "He took all his things and vanished in the night."

"Then you won't mind if we search your house for Harry or any of his things," Snape said in a pleasant voice, which sent fear racing through the veins of the Dursley. "Minerva, would you be so kind to search the house while I talk with them?" he asked with a pleasant smile on his face.

McGonagall stared at him for a moment in sheer shock from Snape being so informal and pleasant to anyone besides a Slytherin. She closed her mouth with a snap. With a quick nod of her head, she brushed past the Dursleys and climbed the stairs to the next landing.

"I think we're be more comfortable in the living room. Don’t you agree?" Snape said in a tone that left little room for agreement.

The Dursleys huddled on their couch and watched wide-eyed as Snape wandered around the room, picking up objects and studying pictures like he was examining a strange beast. 

“Mmmm. Not even one picture of young Harry.” Snape said to himself.

“And why should we have a picture of that useless bastard?” Vernon snapped at Snape.

Snape turned and looked at the family as they sat at on their couch with a strange thoughtful look on his face. “For all the years I’ve known Mr. Potter I’m still trying to figure him out. For all that child has gone through in his short life; from his parents’ murder, to you miserable excuses for human beings, to the Dark Lord, I can’t figure out how he stayed so… innocent. I don’t believe that child could harm another living being unless it was to protect himself or others. I don’t even think he would take revenge on you for what you did to him this summer.”

Vernon paled as he tried to edge as far away from Snape as he could while remaining on the couch.

“Oh yes, I’ve seen young Mr. Potter. I saw his godfather bring his bloody and bruised body into Hogwarts after rescuing him from this hell that you call a home.” Snape’s voice bit the air like ice as his eyes narrowed to slits. “You should be very grateful to Dumbledore right now. He’s the only reason I’m here instead of that escaped mass murderer. Sirius really does have a soft spot for that boy. I would hate to image what he would to if he was here.”

Dudley whimpered in fear as he clutched his mother. The color ran out of Petunia’s face as the realization hit her. “He… He… He was here?” She squawked.

Snape’ cruel grin appeared again as he slowly nodded his head. "Oh yes, and he's planning some very evil things for those who hurt his godson. He mentioned something about doing the same thing they did to them but worse. But then again, Sirius is insane, who knows what he's capable of doing."

Petunia shoved her fist into her mouth to stop her strangled scream of panic.

“Now, we might be able to pacify Black, if we knew who was the once behind the majority of the boy’s injuries,” Snape explained as he walked slowly around the couch.

“It was Vernon,” Petunia said as she tried to edge farther away from her husband. Vernon’s face was almost purple with rage as he glared murderously at his traitorous wife.

“He forced Dudley and me to do those awful things to Harry,” she explained in a rush. “I may not have cared for my nephew as much as I should have. To be truthful, I’ve been an awful person to my sister’s child, but I would never even wish what happened to Harry on any living soul.”

“Then why didn’t you protect him or contact Dumbledore?” Snape asked as his eyes burned holes into the back of her head.

Petunia turned towards Snape, tears running down her face. “I was scared,” she said in a little voice. “When Vernon drinks he gets… it was a question of my son and my survival over Harry.”

“You lying sack of shit!” Vernon roared at his wife. “Don’t you dare blame everything on me! I never once threatened you or that fat, whiny bastard of yours. I saw you grinning and laughing as you whipped that freak. You always got hot and bothered any time you could make him bleed.” 

Dudley whined at his father’s comment on being fat.

“Oh shut up, you fat, useless porker!” Vernon snapped. “And while we’re on that subject, Dudley didn’t seem to have any problems fucking that whore of a cousin. He was up there practically twice a day screwing his brains out.”

"Don't you dare call my Dudley a fairy!" Petunia screamed, as she lashed out at Vernon with her nails. "If you hadn’t insisted that he go to YOUR school, he would never have met those types of people. It's all you fault!"

Snape backed away from the fight on the couch until his back bumped into the wall next to the doorway. He watched wide-eyed as the Dursleys fought among themselves, each blaming the other for the crimes they had committed.

Snape was pulled out of his trance by a hand that drew him into the entranceway. "Minerva," he gasped in relief. "Are you alright?" he asked, when he noticed her pale color and downcast eyes.

She shook her head to say no as she clutched in her arms a piece of cloth, Harry's wand and a few scraps of paper. 

"Was that everything?" Severus asked in confusion over McGonagall's reaction and the measly items she held onto for dear life.

McGonagall slowly raised her head so she could look Snape in the eyes. Her face was tearstained from whatever she had found in Harry's room. Slowly, she nodded her head yes.

Snape reached up and gently wiped away her tears. "I'll find out where the rest of his stuff is at," he said gently before turning and marching back into the living room.

Snape watched for a moment as Petunia and Vernon fought with each other, while Dudley watched with glee and cheered his parents on. With a snarl of disgust, he flicked out his wand and cast a spell.

Screaming in real terror now, Petunia backed away from what was once was her husband. Instead of the large beefy man named Vernon Dursley was a giant cockroach, it's legs and antenna waving wildly in the air.

"Now it's time for you to start answering some questions," Snape said, in a voice that carried the promise of pain if they didn't do as he commanded.

Petunia and Dudley both nodded dumbly as they watched the cockroach plop down to the ground and start scurrying around the room.

"Where is Harry's trunk?" Snape asked forcefully.

"Burnt." Dudley squeaked as he climbed over his mother, almost crushing her as he escaped the thing that was once his father.

"Burnt?"

Dudley nodded his head as he continued to watch the giant insect. "Dad made Harry burn everything."

"What!?!" Snape exploded.

Dudley cowered in the face of Snape anger as Petunia clutched her son to her breast. "Dad made him burn it all. His broom, books, everything, even his wand all up in flames." 

"And his owl?" Snape hissed as he trembled with fury.

"It's in the shed." Petunia answered weakly.

Snape' eyes narrowed with hatred as he turned and stormed out of the room. "Watch them," he snapped off as he passed McGonagall. His anger could be heard in every footstep as he walked through the orderly kitchen and out to the yard.

With a quick jerk, Snape wrenched the shed door open. He quickly found the snow-white owl in the back corner. A hiss escaped his lips as he aw the pitiful state the poor animal was in. As gently as he could, he carried Hedwig into the house.

As Snape walked into the living room, his jaw dropped… instead of finding the Dursleys and the cockroach, he found a pink and purple spotted hyena, a giant slug and a very bashful McGonagall. "Pink and purple?" Snape asked in shock.

With a shrug of her shoulders, McGonagall answered innocently, "I was inspired." 

Snape bit his lip to keep from laughing as he bowed her out of the house, leaving the Dursleys to be the animals they were.


	6. Chapter 6

A wrinkled hand slowly stoked the soft feathers of a phoenix. "Fawkes, how could I have been so blind? I had done everything with in my power to protect that boy from Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but I never once thought to protect him from his family," Dumbledore said with a sad sigh. "I never once thought that they would hurt him no matter how cruel they were."

Dumbledore sat lost in his thoughts as he slowly continued to stoke his phoenix, when a timid knock rang through his office. Dumbledore sighed wearily as he was pulled back into the here and now. "Come in," he called out.

The door opened, and in stepped a pale Professor McGonagall and Professor Snapes, who had concern in his eyes as he watched his fellow teacher.

Dumbledore nodded to a couple of chairs in front of his desk. "I take it everything went well and that you were able to retrieve Harry's stuff?" He asked as they sat down.

Snape shook his head sadly. "Not exactly."

"Not exactly?" Dumbledore said curiously. "What do you mean not exactly?" He asked as he eyed the two professors in front of him.

McGonagall never raised her eyes to Dumbledore as she sat in her seat, lost in thought as she clutched something tightly to her chest. A feeling of deep sorrow radiated from her.

Snape sat quietly in his seat, his hands gripping the arms of the chair cruelly until he suddenly exploded out of his seat. "They're monsters! Every single one of them is a bloody monster!" He spouted angrily as he paced back and forth inside the room like a caged lion. "Fuck!" He exclaimed as he ripped the tie out of his hair, causing it to flow around his face. "It took all my willpower not to kill them all where they stood!"

Dumbledore sat farther back into his seat in shock; he had never seen Severus like this before. Snape was always calm and frigid, not this erupting volcano in front of him. "Perhaps if you would explain to me what happened," he said in a calm voice, not revealing his shock.

"They raped him!" Snapes shouted at Dumbledore with disgust in his voice. "They actually admitted it to me. His uncle and aunt told me that he and that pig of a cousin raped him repeatedly every day for weeks. And that bitch of an aunt didn't even try to protect her own blood. That she herself actually liked to hurt the boy." Snape slowly sank back into his seat with a look of sorrow and hopelessness on his face. "I don't understand how anyone could be so cruel to his own kin. I was a Death Eater and I don't understand."

They sat in silence for a few minutes; the only sound in the room came form the cracking fire and Fawkes preening his feathers. Dumbledore rested his head on the back of his chair and allowed his eyes to close. With a shaky voice, he commanded Snape to tell him what exactly happened in that house from the moment they arrived. 

Snape told of how he destroyed the front door, how confronting the Dursleys, of how he and McGonagall separated, so she could search Harry's room and then how he interrogated the Dursleys. He went into detail about the fight the Dursleys had, even to imitating their voices at the time.

“And while we’re on that subject, Dudley didn’t seem to have any problems fucking that whore of a cousin. He was up there practically twice a day screwing his brains out,” Snape said in Vernon Dursley's voice.

"Oh dear god." Dumbledore said softly as Fawkes sat on his shoulder and tried to comfort him. "Go on Severus, what happened next?"

Snape let out a shaky breath before continuing. "About that time, Minerva came downstairs looking shaky and pale with only a few items of Potter’s," he explained with a quick glance over at her, as she sat quietly staring down at the floor. 

Snape’s face took on an embarrassed look and he fidgeted in his seat as he continued. "After some… persuading…"

"Persuading?" Dumbledore interrupted Severus’ tale as he observed Snape's sudden discomfort.

"Ummm…" Snape suddenly was stuck with a lack of words as a blush came to his checks. "I turned his uncle into a cockroach…" he mumbled as he tried not to look at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore almost laughed at the sight of prim and proper Snape acting like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Quite excusable. Please continue," he said without a trace of laughter in his voice.

"Yes, sir. As I was saying, after some careful persuading I was able to learn that the rest of Potter's stuff had been destroyed. This includes his wand," he said dismally.

"They destroyed everything?" Dumbledore said in a stunned voice

"Yes sir, with the exception of whatever McGonagall has," Snape replied in a dejected voice.

Dumbledore leaned forward. "What about Hedwig, Harry's owl?" he asked as he rested his head in his hands.

Snape shook his head sadly. "Hagrid is taking care of his bird, but it doesn't look good." Snape sat in silence for a moment. "Albus… I think if Potter… Harry cares a lot for that bird. I'm afraid that if he lost it that we might lose him."

Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement in silence. Slowly Dumbledore rose from his seat, as if all his years had finally caught up with him. In silence he walked over to his window and stared down at Hagrid's cottage. "What were you able to find, Professor McGonagall?"

McGonagall continued to sit in her seat in silence, not even acknowledging the question. Dumbledore turned from his window to look at her. "McGonagall?"

McGonagall shook her head no as she clutched the items taken from Harry's room tighter.

“Minerva?” Dumbledore asked with concern in his voice as he knelt down in front of her and took one of her hands in his. “Minerva, what did you see in Harry’s room?”

Minerva raised her head just enough so she could look Dumbledore in the face, her eyes were awash in pain and sorrow. Seeing the concern in his face, she closed her eyes tight and turned her face away from him. After taking a shuddering breath, she opened her eyes and allowed them to focus on a Muggle toy that Dumbledore kept on his desk as she began her tale.

“In the war with Vol… with You Know Who, I’ve seen a number of his victims and the rooms in which he hurt them.” Her eyes suddenly stared into Dumbledore. “But this was a child’s room.” She hissed in pain. “How could anyone do such a thing?”

Dumbledore rocked back from the sound of her voice, never had he heard such pain and anguish from her, not in all the years he'd known her. Slowly he stood up, with a passing glance of concern for Snape, and turned back to his desk.

Using his wand, Dumbledore summoned a tea set with cream and sugar. Without saying a word, he poured tea for Snape, McGonagall and himself, then pulled a drawer open in his desk. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he pulled out a small blue bottle with a sigh of relief. Pulling the cork out, he lets two generous drops of electric blue liquid drip into each one of the tea cups. A puff of steam exploded from the cup as each drop touched the tea inside.

As gently as possible, Dumbledore took Harry's items from her as he pressed the teacup into her hands. "Drink it up, Minerva." He ordered before laying the items on his desk and handing Severus his cup. 

McGonagall took a sip of the tea and sputtered as whatever was in the tea hit her.

"Finish it. It will help," Dumbledore commanded as he added cream to his cup.

They drank their tea in silence as Dumbledore quickly looked over the papers from Harry's room. With a nod of his head he placed them to the side. "I'll read those later," he said to himself. "Now Minerva, I want you to tell me everything you saw after you and Severus split up. Do you understand?'

McGonagall nodded yes with a glassy-eyed look on her face.

"Albus?" Snape said concernedly as he looked back and forth from the headmaster to McGonagall.

A small smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "Don't worry, Severus. It’s only a small potion I found years ago that helps a person retell some disturbing event without distress," he explained before turning back to McGonagall. "Please begin your tale, my dear." He said as he settled back into his chair.

"I could tell that they were hiding something from us. They were practically terrified of us." Minerva said in a calm, dead voice as she stared at the Muggle toy on the desk. "I could smell the terror on the uncle as I passed by him. He didn't want me to go upstairs. He must have been afraid of what I might find, but he was too scared of Professor Snape to stop me."

McGonagall stopped, lost in thought for a moment, before continuing. "The second floor looked devastated. The first two rooms had things thrown around, furniture moved and closets standing open with everything that was in them thrown haphazardly out. It was as if someone was searching for something or someone."

"I'm willing to bet that they were searching for Harry," Snape interrupted. Nodding in agreement, Dumbledore asked her to continue her tale.

McGonagall licked her lips nervously as she remembered what she found next. "I could tell… even before I reached the last bedroom… that there was something wrong with this room. The room… it gave off a feeling of pain… of just wanting to die." She struggled to continue as tears started to form in her eyes.

"The bedroom door was half off its hinges when I opened it. The room was hot and dark inside, almost suffocating. And the smell." McGonagall’s voice trailed off as the memory forced her to relive that moment.

"What did it smell like, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked as he leaned forward, his eyes riveted to her face.

"Like blood and pain… And the smell of sex," she sobbed as she closed her eyes tight to keep the tears from escaping.

"Minerva." Dumbledore said in a calm, soothing voice. "I want you to open the door and step into the room. Once you're inside, I want you to tell me everything you see." 

"It's dark. Very dark. The smell is worse inside." Her breath came out ragged. "There's no light switch inside. Remember one out in the hall."

"Step out and turn the light on," Dumbledore commanded, in the same calm, soothing voice.

McGonagall nodded her head. "Light on. Single naked bulb. Bare room. Window blocked up. Old bed and filthy mattress lying on it's side. Chains. Empty closet with broken door. Strange…"

"What is it, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked as he leaned towards her again. "What's strange?"

"Strange design on the walls and floor. Like someone splattered paint around…" McGonagall reached out to touch the walls in her memory. "Blood. It's blood." She said it in horrified shock as she stared at the hand in front of her. "It's everywhere… on the walls… the ceiling… the floor… I can see places where the wood floor is stained from the puddles of blood. So much blood!"

McGonagall started to shake from the sight of the blood on her hand, of the blood surrounding her. A whimper escaped her lips as she started to panic. "Minerva. The blood is gone. You don't see it anymore." Dumbledore commanded her in a firm voice, effectively ending her panic. McGonagall's body shuddered in relief as the sight of the blood vanished. "I need to look around the room. I need you to tell me where you found the few pieces of Harry's stuff."

McGonagall nodded her head in understanding. She sat in silence for a few minutes as Snape stole an uneasy glance at Dumbledore. "Something over in the far corner,” she said finally, “Walking over." Minerva cocked her hear to the side as if listening to something. "The floor boards sound different… loose boards near where the bed was, I think… a hiding spot. Very good, Harry. Some stale bread… fabric, a cloak of some type… Harry's wand! Papers… with Harry's handwriting. 'It’s my hope that what I write will end up in the hands of a witch or wizard so that the world may learn what is happened to me if I do not survive this summer.' He wasn't expecting to live."

Dumbledore let out a weary sigh as he leaned back into his chair. "What was in the corner?" Snape asked as he watched McGonagall uneasily.

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Minerva. I need you look into the corner and tell me what you find," he said in a soothing voice.

A few minutes passed as in McGonagall's mind she walked over to the corner. "NOOOO!!!" She cried as she shoved her fist into her mouth to keep from crying out.

"When I count to three, you'll be back at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said quickly. "One. Two. Three."

Like getting hit with a bucket of ice cold water, McGonagall calmed down instantly. "Dumbledore?!?" she said in confusion.

"It's ok, Minerva. I used a potion to put you into a trance-like state so you could tell me what you saw in Potter's room," he explained gently as McGonagall wiped the tears from her face. "Can you tell me what you saw in the corner? You became very upset when we asked you before."

McGonagall became to twist her robes in her hands as she remembered what was in the corner. "I never expected to see any of those things anyplace like a child’s bedroom," she started to explain.

Dumbledore and Snape leaned towards her hanging on every word she said.

"Whips… chains and restraints… gags… cat o' nine tails and…" A sick blush appeared on her face. "Some other… adult items."

 

~*~

 

Sirius stood watching the sun slowly sink out of sight from the infirmary wing windows. When the last traces of light vanished from the sky, he turned back to the world inside. His eyes immediately came to rest on the thin form resting in the four-poster bed. Madam Pomfrey had been able to heal the internal damage, but sickly, greenish-tinged bruises still remained on his pale body, a visible reminder of what the child had suffered.

Harry began to thrash in his sleep, reliving the hell that was his life for the past few months. Gently Sirius reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair out of Harry's face. Even this gentle touch caused Harry to flinch and whimper in fear.

"I'm so sorry, Harry." Sirius sobbed. "It's all my fault. Everything that happened to you… it's all my fault." Tears poured down his face. "If I hadn't insisted on Peter being the Secret Keeper your parents never would have died. And you would never have been forced to live with those monsters."

Sirius wiped the tears from his face angrily. "I know I haven't been there for you when you needed me. Hell, I've been a lousy godfather to you." Sirius bit his lip in frustration as his hand hovered over Harry's hair, wanting to touch and comfort the child but unable to do it. "I may not be able to change the past, Harry, but I can promise you this. No one will ever hurt you again if I have anything to say about it." Sirius’ dead calm voice would have terrified anyone who had heard it.


	7. Chapter 7

The crackle of the fire and the occasional soft murmurs from Fawkes as the phoenix slept on its perch filled the silence of the headmaster's office. Professor Snape and McGonagall had left an hour ago to fulfill their duties as administrators to their houses, leaving Dumbledore alone with the last of Potter's possessions and the headmaster’s guilt.

As if touching something so delicate that it would fall apart if even breathed on, Dumbledore picked up the first sheet of paper that came from Harry's room.

~*~  
 _  
It’s my hope that what I write here will end up in the hands of a witch or wizard, so that the world may learn what has happened to me if I do not survive this summer._

_My story began the last day at Hogwarts; a feeling of dread came upon me as I packed my possessions. But for some strange reason I couldn't force myself to pack my father's invisible cloak, nor my wand. I decide to hide the cloak and wand on me. When I'm wearing Dudley's hand-me-downs, no one could be able to notice if I was hiding a baby elephant on me._

_I knew as soon as I saw my Uncle Vernon that this summer wouldn’t be pleasant. As I walked to the car with him it was like walking to my own execution. I had hoped that the feeling of dread would pass but it proved to be too true._

_I knew I was doomed when I walked into my bedroom. My window, through which the Weasleys had once helped me escape, had been bricked in. Every single piece of Dudley's broken toys and his unwanted books had all vanished. All that was left behind was a cheap brass bed, a single bare light bulb with the switch in the hall, a few liters of water, a bucket for a bathroom and the wooden floor._

_Uncle Vernon told me that this is where I'd be staying for the summer and that the only time I would be allowed out of the room was to work and to use the bathroom. He would not put up with my "disease" this summer. He then left, shutting a heavy metal door and leaving me in darkness._

_I was left in that room for five to six days, I think. The only way I can tell its daylight is that my room gets hotter and hotter. Yesterday they released me to work._

_I fear for my life._

_Harry Potter_

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 11th_

_Sorry I haven't written recently, been tired. It's early morning right now. Had another nightmare about Voldemort. He was torturing someone, not sure who. The Deatheater failed to get the Eye of Blue? I think that’s what he said but I can't be sure now. My head hurts._

_It's late afternoon now and they're taking naps, so I have a little bit of time to rest._

_They're been working me constantly, from the crack of dawn till late at night, it's cooking, cleaning, mowing, weeding, painting… work work work. I feel like a slave, but I know a slave would be treated better. They're more valuable to the slave master. They have too much invested in a slave to waste them but the Dursleys they don't care about me. I'm nothing but a freak to them. Someone they wished they had drowned that day they found me on their doorstep._

_I wish Voldemort had killed me that day._

_Ok, I'm getting myself depressed now. Need to stop that. Going to try to take a nap before I have to fix dinner. Maybe I can steal some more food then._

_Dinner was a disaster. Everything was going fine, they complained that the food was either too salty or too dry or too tough as they shoved it down their throat like it was their last meal. Not like I got a taste any of it..._

_Anyway during dinner Pig, Ron's owl, arrived with a letter. Uncle Vernon didn't get mad or yell but his eyes got cold and hard. Very scary. I handed him the message after I was able to catch Pig, I knew if I didn't I would have been locked in my room for days with no light and no food. I can handle the no food part but the no light part I can't handle. I think that I might be afraid of the dark now._

_After he read it, to say he was angry would be putting it mildly. He turned a bright shade of purple; the veins in his necks stood out. I though he was going to have a heart attack but I couldn't be so lucky._

_He never let me see the letter but he did tell me what to write back to Ron. He had me write that everything was find and that they were treating me fair, blah blah blah. Basically he had me lie to them. I wish I had been able to slip a real message to him but Vernon read the letter over after I finished it just in cause I tried to write the truth._

_After I set Pig off, he hit me. He punched me right in the eye, broke my glasses and then started yelling about all the lies I've been telling everyone over the years. How I should be on my knees, thanking them for taking me in and caring for me._

_I never did get any food either._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_I hate Hermione. I hate Ron. I hate Dean, Neville and Seamus. I even hate Draco. I really do. And do you know why? It's cause I'm jealous of them all. They have someone that loves them for just being themselves…. even Draco._

_They have someone that will kiss their boo-boos, someone to stoke their hair when they're sick and tell them they'll be all right. They have their parents’ bed to crawl into when they get scared during the night. They have someone to hold them and to love them._

_Me? I got the Dursleys._

_I know the Weasleys try to be parents to me, but it's not the same. They're not my parents or my godfather. They're Ron's parents. My best friend’s family… and I hate them all._

_I hate Peter. I hate Voldemort. But most of all I hate Fudge. He’s the one that took Sirius away from me. He took my chance to have a happy loving childhood away. Because of him I’m stuck in this hell._

_I’m stuck in this fucking hell and no one cares. No one fucking cares._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 15th (I think)_

_Hopefully Uncle Vernon won't find out what I did today. While they were eating their breakfast I was able to steal some of the bacon grease to eat with my wonderful meal of two thin slices of stale bread. It was heavenly. I just wish I could have gotten more._

_Later I was able to rescue an old apple core from the bin. It was so sweet._

_I’m always hungry now. I watch them at every meal stuffing their faces full of food. If I’m lucky I’ll get some of the leftovers if they feel like being generous that day. It’s not much but it’s something._

_Read over what I written so far and I’m sorry, everyone. I don’t really hate you, I’m just so frustrated. So lonely!_

_Ok, I still hate Peter and Voldemort. And I really do hate Fudge!_

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 16th (if yesterday was the 15th)_

_Today was the worst day of my life. This morning Uncle Vernon had me drag my trunk out into the middle of the backyard._

_Once there he had me put all my books into a pile, then he poured petrol over them and lit them. He forced me to watch them burn. Aunt Petunia and Dudley roasted marshmallows over the fire and laughed at me._

_When the fires started to die down, he had me add my clothing, my potion supplies, my BroomStick Servicing Kit, and everything that would burn._

_Finally we came down to my wand, my broom and my book containing the photos of my parents. Dudley grabbed the wand, broke it into pieces and threw each piece into the fire; screaming at me about the pigtail Hagrid gave him, about losing his playroom, about his tongue and all the other evil things I’ve done to him over the years._

_Then Uncle Vernon have me a choice, I had to burn either my broom or the photos of my parents. It wasn't an easy choice –I’m so sorry, Sirius!- but in the end I watched my broom burn. You should have seen how they laughed and smiled when I placed my broom into the fire._

_I thought it couldn't get worse but it did. Vernon threw my picture album into the fire. He asked me if I really believed that he would let something so unclean stay in his house. That he was forced to keep my diseased body there, but he wasn't forced to keep my things._

_He made me stoke the fire as I watched the album burn. The only photos of my parents, gone up in flames. I swear I could hear them scream._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 22nd, maybe_

_Losing track of the days. Vernon likes to keep me constantly either in the dark or in the light whenever I’m locked into my room. It’s hard to tell if an hour, a day or a week has passed when I’m in there._

_Aunt Petunia is calling I’ll be back later._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_Sorry if this is hard to read, but I’m still shaking. Uncle Vernon tried to burn my hand on the stove today._

_I had just set Dudley’s breakfast in front of him and was about to straighten the kitchen when Dudley starts to whine that I burnt his bacon. Uncle Vernon exploded. (Oh, how I wish he really would…)_

_He stormed over to me and slapped me so hard that he sent me flying into the refrigerator. He starts kicking me, yelling about burning the bacon and damaging the refrigerator._

_Then he grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the stove. He turned the burner to the highest setting and tried to make me open my hand so he could put it on the stove._

_He was going to burn my hand._

_The only thing that stopped him was that Petunia said it would have smelled up the house, and they had company coming later that day._

_So he dragged me up the stairs and locked me in my room again. He said no food for me for a week. Won’t tell you what else he said._

_So here I am again. Locked in my room with the lights on and nothing to do._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_It’s late now. I can hear Dudley talking in his sleep._

_By now you’re wondering why don’t I escape; after all, I have my invisible cloak and my wand. Just use magic and run away._

_If only it was that simple… So let's start naming reasons why I can’t leave.  
If I use my cloak and just walk out, where would I go? _

_Hogwarts? Dumbledore would send me back. I’m safer here than there. Even after seeing what they’re doing to me, I’m pretty sure he would send me back after adjusting the Dursleys a bit._

_The Burrow? I have Voldemort and his Deatheaters after me! Can I really take the chance of endangering the lives of the only family I’ve known? Add in the fact that Dumbledore would still send me back…_

_Professor Remus? I don’t even know where he lives, let alone if he would take me in._

_Sirius? He’s endangered enough because of me! I don’t need to add to it._

_Hermione? Not a wizard family. No protection there._

_Leaky Cauldron? Money and the fact I would have little protection, and I would be a bigger target. Can’t endanger more lives._

_What about magic? If I used magic someone would come and investigate, wouldn’t they? No, they won’t. They didn’t the time Dobby used magic. I was blamed for that! If I used magic, I would be expelled and be stuck here with them forever._

_Fudge would never believe me anyway. And thanks to Rita no one else would either. They would probably think that I made it all up, did it to myself or got what I desire._

_Some days I wish Voldemort would come and put me out of my misery. Death has to be better than life. And I’m too much of a coward to kill myself._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 23rd_

_Ok, Aunt Petunia is scarier and meaner than Vernon is._

_I’ll skip the details, too tired to care. Today it was Aunt Petunia’s turn to beat me and she enjoyed it. After she was finished she dragged Vernon off to bed._

_Then it was Dudley’s turn to beat me._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 28th._

_It looks like Dudley was just able to sprain my wrist, instead of breaking my neck like he wanted to. The fat little bastard pushed me down the stairs for breathing too loud. Then Aunt Petunia came in and screamed at me for making so much noise._

_Also today, I found out why they're being so mean to me. They're blaming me for all their problems. They say I'm using magic to make their life awful._

_Work has been bad for Vernon, he fears of being laid off. Plus the fact that he lost over 15,000 pounds has got him to drinking, and I'm his punching bag when he gets drunk._

_Dudley has been expelled from Smeltings for fighting and bullying the younger students. He sent a first year to the hospital when the boy won't give him some candy. That’s the official statement, but from the whispers between my aunt and uncle that I've over hear I think Dudley may have done something else. Something so serious that the school is covering it up, but I have no clue what he could have done._

_And to top it off Aunt Petunia has been diagnosed with herpes and it's my fault. They're blaming me for her sexually transmitted disease. You don't get a STD from magic, you get it from having sex with someone infected with the disease and since Vernon has tested negative, it can only mean Aunt Petunia was unfaithful to her husband. Of course she denies this and claims that I must be doing it to her, so I get beaten._

_My only hope is that someone will notice something strange in the letters I have written to my friends. Vernon reads everything over and sometime dictates what I can say in the letters._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_July 31st_

_Happy Birthday to me,_  
Happy Birthday to me,  
Happy Birthday to me!  
How I wish I could die.

_Today when I came downstairs to fix breakfast, there were six owls and Uncle Vernon waiting for me. He had remembered it was my birthday and had planned to keep a close eye on me._

_When Aunt Petunia and Dudley arrived, I passed every letter to Vernon and waited to see if he'd let me open my gifts. I bet he didn't want to let anyone else open them in case they were dangerous._

_I think he wanted me to open my gifts so I could see what they were before he destroyed them._

_The book from Hermione went into the garbage, as did the gifts from the twins. Wish I could have used them. Hagrid's rock cakes and garbage disposals don't mix. Got beaten for that one even though I warned them._

_Aunt Petunia took a hammer to the Snitch that Ron sent me. And the warm blue glass sphere Sirius send me was smashed by Dudley. Wish I could have held the sphere for a little longer, I felt nice, warm and safe when I held it… but now it's gone too._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_Aug 1st._

_Hurts to breathe. Think Aunt Petunia has broken a couple of ribs._

_Today Uncle Vernon was laid off from his job and the company is closing its doors. He says it's my fault that he was laid off and the business went under._

_He also says I take food away from his family. I…_

_~*~_

_~*~_

_Not sure of the date._

_Please let me die. The night of August 1st my uncle came into my room and beat me. As I lay on the floor of my room, he locked the bedroom door. Then he stuffed a sock into my mouth and pulled down my pyjama bottoms._

_Oh God he RAPED me! He shoved himself into me. It hurt so bad! It hurt worse than anything Voldemort has ever done to me. When he was done he beat me again and said that I forced him to do that to me. That I forced HIM to rape ME!_

_I have to escape. Tonight I'll try to escape. Even being in the hands of Voldemort is better than this. I'm going to have to leave everything behind except Hedwig. I can't leave her behind so they can torture her._

_If I fail, I'm good as dead. But if I stay, I’m just as dead._

_~*~_

_~*~_

_The Last Will And Testament of Harry James Potter._

_If you’re hearing this then I’m either dead, close to death or in the hands of Voldemort. In any case I’m dead._

_If there is a body left, I don't want any big fanfare or mourning for me. I was born, I lived and I died. I never did anything important in my life but get people killed._

_I know they'll say 'What about you defeating Voldemort?' But that was my mom protecting me and she stopped him, I did nothing. And Voldemort is still alive so nothing has changed. I've still done nothing with my life._

_Bury me in secret. Someplace that quiet and peaceful. Someplace where they can't find me and make my grave into a holy pilgrimage._

_I wish I could give everyone something but seeing that my family destroyed it all… I’ll give to you what I have._

_To my best friend Ron Weasley, I leave you my key to my vault in Gringotts._

_To my Hermione Granger, also my best friend, I was going to give you my books. After all you want to borrow them anyway, but they’re all gone now. So I leave you Hedwig if she’s still alive. I pray that she is._

_To Hagrid, I give you my love and thanks for being the very first person to ever to show me the first sign of human kindness._

_To Professor McGonagall, I always wanted to fill your office full of catnip toy mice. Guess I'll never do it now. Thank you for being there for me._

_To Professor Snape, I was going to leave you a bottle of shampoo and some clean towels, but now I'll just leave you some advice._

_What do you want more in life? To be feared or respected? If you want respect, try not being such an asshole. Your students hate and fear you because you never have a kind word for them. They might do everything perfect, but you'll take points off them anyway and humiliate them for nothing; with the exception of Slytherin, who you treat like God's gift to humanity. Try seeing yourself through our eyes for once._

_To Fred and George, we had a deal. Don’t fail me ‘cause I’ll be watching you if I can._

_To Ginny, I leave my wishes for a happy future. I wish I could share it with you. Perhaps I'll keep an eye on you from time to time._

_To Arthur and Molly Weasley, thank you for being there for me. You're like the parents I never had._

_To Dumbledore, don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known what they were going to do. I forgive you, Albus, for the truth you have kept from me. I forgive you for placing me with the Dursleys. You had no way of knowing what was happening. I grant you the right to forgive yourself._

_To Remus Lupin, the best DADA professor I ever had. Thank you for everything._

_To Sirius Black, my godfather, my friend, my confidant, my father in all but blood, I leave to you my father's invisibility cloak._

_Sirius, if you ever get the chance to read this… I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm so sorry for everything that has happened to you. You have been the only person in my life to truly care about me as Harry Potter, not as the Boy Who Lived. In my darkest hours, I knew that you cared about me like I was your own son. You made me laugh when the world tried to beat me down. You gave me love when the world turned its face to me. Thank you._

_I only ask one thing from you Sirius, and that’s for you to live. Fight for your innocence. Fight for your freedom. Fight to live for me because if you don't than nothing in my life never mattered. Everything I have gone through never mattered._

 ~*~

Tears raced down Dumbledore's face as he set Harry's will on the pile of letters. With a heart-wrenching sob, Dumbledore hid his face in his shaking hands and cried.


	8. Chapter 8

"Mr. Longbottom." Snape snarled as he stood over Neville's shoulder. "I specifically explained to the class that the mugwort needed to be ground into a fine powder and that the chamomile is to be shredded by hand." He explained with an experated sigh as he stared at Neville's work. "Go get more ingredients and start over again." With that the Potion Master continue to the next student.

"He has to be sick." Hermione whispered to Ron. "He didn't take points off or yell at Neville." As she watch their professor correct a Slytherin.

Ron nodded his head in agreement as he carefully watched their teacher out of the corner of his eyes. "Ether that or he's distracted by something." He whispered back to her. "Or someone."

Hermione's eyes widen as turned sharply to look at Ron. "Harry!" she gasps quietly to Ron. "Do you think…"

"No talking in class Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger." Snape stated in calm tone, his back towards them. "If you continue I will be forced to take points and give you detention. Is that clear?" He said turning his coal black eyes towards them.

"Yes professor." Hermione replied meekly as her eyes grew as wide as saucer.

"Mr. Weasley?" Snape said with a nod of his head toward the red head.

Ron gapped like a fish at the Potion Master as he patiently waited for a reply. Hermione nudged Ron in the ribs, bringing him out of his shock. "Understood sir." Ron's head bobbing ups and down.

The class sat in silence shock, never before has that greasy git ever past up an opportunity to take points from a Gryffindor, let along one of Potter's friends.

Noticing everyone staring at him, Snape pulled his shoulder back, stood up straighter and glared at his class. "I believe this class has to deal with creation and use of potions, not a gawk at your professor. Get to work." His snide comment broke the spell over the class as the students quickly returned to their work.

The students were deeply immersed in the slicing, pounding and stirring of their potions that they bearly registered a knock on the dungeon door.

"Severus?" a female voice came from the doorway. The class turned as one, their mouth hanging open as they realized that Professor McGonagall stood there. Never before had any of them heard anyone address the Potion master by his first name with the exception of Dumbledore.

"Minerva?" An explosion could have gone off in the classroom and none of the students would have noticed when the Potion Master used the first name of the transfiguration professor.

“They’re needed.” McGonagall replied with a nod of her head towards the class.

With a wearily sigh Snape sank into his seat. “Anything?” he said cryptically. McGonagall shook her head sadly.

Snape closed his eyes as he ran hid hand through his hair in frustration. “Granger. Weasley. Leave your equipment and accompany Professor McGonagall. I’m sure one of your fellow students would be willing to clean up after you.”

The class stared silently at each other and at Hermione and Ron as they stood up. "I'll take care of everything." Neville whispered to them. Ron nodded his head as he past Longbottom.

“Professor, does this have anything to do with Harry?” Hermione asked as she and Ron approached their teacher.

McGonagall and Snape shared a quick look. “Come along now.” She replied as she turned and marched out of the room at a quick pace.

Hermione and Ron nervously followed their Head of House through the quiet hall until the stood in front of the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster’s office. Leaning forward Professor McGonagall whispered something to the stone statue, which leaped quietly aside. In silence the trio made their way up towards Dumbledore office. 

The soft murmur of voices could be heard coming through the thick wood door that lead to office of the most powerful of wizard in the world.

The murmurs stop as McGonagall slowly opened the door to present Hermione and Ron with a sea of red hair. “Mom! Dad!” Ron exclaimed as both him and Hermione was engulfed by his mother’s arms and kisses.

Hermione looked around in shock to see the whole Weasley’s family here at Hogwarts. “What’s going on?” She asked in confusion as Mr. Weasley gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Dumbledore summoned the whole family to Hogwarts last night." Charlie's explained as he leaned against a window over looked the grounds of the school. "Bill and I arrived about a half hour ago." He said as he nodded over to the chair in which Bill slept his head thrown back and his mouth wide open.

"So what did you do, ickle Ronniekins" exclaimed one of the twin as he grabbed his brother by the head and began to rake his knuckled on top of his hair. "Come one confuse. What evil did you do."

"Boys!" Ginny sighed in disgust from her place on the couch as she watched the antics of her brothers.

"Fred Eric Weasley! Behave yourself!" Molly Weasley commanded.

"I'm Fred mom. That’s George." The other red hair twin said as he pointed to his brother who was torturing Ron.

"Can't you ever tell your own children apart woman?!?" The twins said simultaneous.

Mrs. Weasley looked from one twin to the other trying to tell them apart. She snorted in frustrations. "Either way stop tormenting you brother."

"Yes mother." They said in stereo with identical smirks on their faces. Arthur skillfully hid his snicker behind a cough when his wife turned to him for support.

"Well in that case I'll have to do something about it." Bill said as he woke up and grabbed Ron from behind and began to torture Ron the same way as the twin had.

"BILL!!!!" Ron squealed as he tried in vane to escape his brother.

"William Walter Weasley!" Molly bellowed.

Bill immediate let Ron go who dropped to all fours and scurry to safety by Hermione. "Sorry mom." He replied straight face but with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Why can the three of you behave more like your brother Percy." Molly exclaimed in frustration as she waved her hand toward where Percy sat quietly in his chair.

The Weasley's boys minus Percy all look at each other, then at Percy and they at their mother. "Nah!!!" They all said at the same time. Arthur quickly turned his laughter into a cough when his wife turns towards him.

"So Hermione." Charlie's said as he draped his arm over her shoulder. "When are you going to dye you hair and become an unofficial Weasley?"

"Or better yet when is ickle Ronniekins going to ask you to become an official Weasley?" Bill said as he threw his arm over Ron's shoulder the whole time grinning like a fool.

Ron turned as red as his hair from his brother's teasing. Clearing his throat nervously Ron turned to his father. "So why is everyone here? Does it have to do with Harry?"

Molly and Arthur looked at each other nervously. "Perhaps we all should sit down." Arthur said dispelling the teasing tone of the family. Looking down at his hands, Mr. Weasley nervously said, " officially Fudge has stated that Harry ran away from the Dursley at the beginning of the summer break."

"THAT’S A LIE!" Ron shouted at his father, his face turning red with angry. "Harry was there the whole time. He didn't run away! That two face cock…"

"RON!" his mother shouted in shock

"Now Ron, settle down son." Arthur said as he tried to keep the smirk off his face. "I know it's a lie. And I happen to agree with about Fudge. He is a…"

"Arthur!" Molly exclaimed as she glared at him. "Not in front of the children."

"But mom we all know that Fudge is a two face…" Fred or was it George started to say.

"Enough!" Molly bellowed. "I will not put up with any more of that language from my children is that understood. Is that clear!”

“Yes ma’am.” Mr. Weasley, the Weasley children and Hermione all said in front of the wrath of the terror that is Molly Weasley.

"So what's the unofficial statement Dad?" Charlie asks as he sat sprawled in the chair. One leg throws over the arm of the chair as he slumps into the deep cushions.

"Charlie Weasley. Sit in that chair as it was intended to sat in. Don't you dare disgrace yourself in front of the Headmaster." Molly snapped at her son as he straightens up with a slight blush on his face.

"Too late mom." Bill mumbled to himself.

"Mr. Weasley?" Hermione ask her lip trembling as she tries not to cry. "What happened to Harry?"

Arthur Weasley ran a nervous hand through his thinning red hair. "It appears that Harry was kidnapped by at least two if not more wizards."

"Deatheaters?" Ginny voiced what everyone else thought as she wiped the tears from her face.

Arthur nodded his head sadly. "A friend in Improper Use of Magic Office contacted me about the use of magic on Privet Drive and the fact that Mafalda Hopkirk, the head of that department has order Harry's expulsion from Hogwarts for the use of magic by an underage wizard."

"WHAT!!!!!" Roared everyone in the office.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Hermione blurted out in shock

"What are those fools thinking. Especially with student being at Hogwarts!" Percy snapped.

"What do expect? After all this is the Ministry we're talking about. No offence intended dad." Bill grumbled evilly

"None taken Bill." Mr. Weasley replied as Percy ignored the comment.

Mr. Weasley continued on wit his tale. "After some persuasion I was finally able to learn what had happened at the Dursley's household and the fact that the Ministry had allowed the protections on the Dursley's household to drop"

"But… But I thought that Dumbledore…" Percy stuttered.

Arthur slowly shocked his head. "Dumbledore only maintances the wards while Harry is at residence there. The Ministry maintenance at the resident and over Smelting for the rest of the year."

"Why Smelting?" Charlie as Ginny clung to him her body shaking from her silent crying.

"Dudley Dursley, Harry's cousin. He goes there." Ron explained in a flat tone as the realization that his friend was gone and mostly likely dead began to sink in. "Why were they down." 

Everyone looked at Ron in confusion. "Why were the wards down?" he repeated his question.

"Fudge." Arthur said as if that explained everything. "He figure thought it was a waste of money to maintain wards on a family of Muggles when as he claim there is no threat. He just can't accept that Voldemort is back."

"That two face cock sucker." Molly Weasley snarled. "I always knew he was a fool but I didn't realized his stupidity went so far." Everyone stared at Molly in surprise as she glare at them, daring them to say a word.

Just then the door opens and Remus and Dumbledore enters, the room instantly explodes into questions.

"Headmaster is there any word on Harry?"

"Is he dead?"

"Does Voldemort have him?

The barrage of questions ended when Dumbledore motioned for silences. The usual sparkle in his eyes and the skip in his step were missing as the headmaster walked towards his desk.

"Albus is there any news on Harry at all?" Mrs. Weasley said, her voice cracking a little.

A sad little smile came upon Dumbledore as he looked at the Weasley family, Remus and Hermione. "I think the best thing would before Arthur to update Remus and I about what the Ministry is planning."

As Mr. Weasley's recounted the Ministry stance on Harry's disappearance and on Fudge's money saving idea, Dumbledore's eyes became colder and colder. A chill actual filled the room from his angry. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix buried his head under his wing to escape the chill. "I assumed that Auror have been sent to the house?" The Headmaster said a few minutes after Arthur finished his report

"No sir." Percy said from his set next to the twin. "Two junior member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were sent to the house. The reported that the family had been turned into animals and that Mr. Dursley quickly shoved them out of the house before they could investigate farther. Fudge has order no farther investigation."

"WHAT!!!" Remus shouted as he shot out of his seat. "Harry's disappeared, his guardian turned into animals and he doesn't care!!!" Everyone watched as the former DADA professor stormed up and down the room. "When Sirius hears about this…. It will kill him if anything has happened to Harry." He said silently.

"He already knows." Dumbledore stated in a soft sad voice. All eyes turned to the Headmaster. "Sirius… Sirius was the one to remove Harry from that hell."

"Albus. What happened?" Remus asked, as he looked the Headmaster in the eyes.

Dumbledore sighed wearily as he leaned back in his chair. "When I was informed that Harry wasn't on the train I immediately check the wards of the Dursley's home and found them down. But I was able to sense that Harry was still in the house. I was able to contact Sirius and he was able to find Harry." His voice trailed off at that point.

"They hurt him. Didn't they?" Ginny said in a small voice. "That’s why we were all sent to our house. So you could bring him into Hogwarts."

Dumbledore nodded his head, a sad expression on his face. "Yes child they did."

"Albus?" Remus said, all this questions and concern behind the Headmaster's name.

Pulling a draw open, Dumbledore extract a bundle of papers, which he places on his desk. "I think these can explain what happened better than I ever could." He explained as he pushed the papers towards Remus.

Picking up the papers, Remus settles into his seat and begins to read them aloud. "It’s my hope that what I write here will end up in the hands of a witch or wizard…."

The only sounds in the room was the crackling of the fire, the rustling of the papers, Remus voice as he read aloud Harry's fateful summer and the soft sobbing of those present.

Remus' voice trailed off as brow furrowed in confusion. "This can't be right." He mumbled as he flipped back to the beginning.

"What is it?" Hermione asked as she walked over to where he sat.

"Harry said that he hide his wand under the loose board but later the Dursley removed it from his trunk and destroyed it." Confusion laced his voice as he explained it to those in the room.

Dumbledore pulled out Harry's wand and placed it on his desk. "This was found with the letters and his cloak."

One of the twins suddenly snapped his fingers. "I know what happened."

"One of our trick wands." The other twin finishes his brother's explanation.

"We gave him one at Christmas." explained together. "They most have found the trick wand in his trunk and assumed it was his real one."

"Where did Harry get the funny ink?" Hermione said unexpectedly as she studied Harry's writing over Remus' shoulder.

"Huh?" Almost everyone looked at her in confusion.

Hermione pointed at the papers. "See he goes from a thin watery black ink to this reddish brown one."

Dumbledore clears his throat nervously. "That’s not ink."

The blood ran out of everyone's face as they realized what Harry was forced to use when he ran out of ink. "Fuck." Ron whispers in shock.

Suddenly Remus stood up and began to pace the room reading the letter silently. With each passing moment he's angry became more and more apparent as he read what Harry's family had done to him. "I would have took him in. I could have protected him." He mumbled to himself as the look of great sadness appeared on his face.

"Albus? Did you know this was happening?" Remus asked as he turned on the Headmaster, the paper waving in his hands.

Fawkes flew down and settled on the old man's knee. "No. My duty was to maintenance the wards on the house. It was the Ministry's responsibility to protect Harry from non-magically threats."

"YOU TRUSTED HARRY WITH FUDGE?!?" Remus screamed in shock at the older man.

"To my eternal shame." Dumbledore said as he stroked the phoenix's feather. "Yes I trusted Fudge."

"Could.. Could they have been under the Imperius Curse." Ginny asked nervously as she plucked at her robes.

Dumbledore shocked his head negatively. "It was on of the first thing Severus and Minerva check. What they did was of their own free will."

"Snape and McGonagall?" Mr. Weasley's eyes brighten as he put two and two together. "The two wizards at the house. They were the ones to turn the Dursley into animals."

"I sent them to return Harry's possessions as well as his owl and to discover what exactly happened in that house. Sirius was a bit out of sorts when he arrived with Harry." Dumbledore said with the start of a smile on his face. "I believe it was Severus who turned Vernon into his true self and Minerva finished with the other two."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Charlie asked voicing almost everyone's confusion as he looked back and forwards between his father's grinning face and the sparkle in the Headmaster's eyes.

Arthur chuckled softly "It seems that your former professors became upset with Harry's family and turned them into animals." He explained to his son. 

"To be exact Professor Snape turned Mr. Dursley in to a giant cockroach and McGonagall turn Harry's aunt and cousin into pink and purple spotted hyena and a giant slug. I'm not exactly sure which one is which but they do take a wonderful photo."

"No." Remus suddenly moaned. All eyes turned to where he leaned against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor, the papers clutched in his hands. "No. No. No."  
"Remus?" Molly said as she kneeled over next to Remus and took his hand. "What is it?"

"They raped him." Hermione said, her face completely white as she looked down at the letters she retrieved from Remus. "Oh god! They raped him." She said before dropping the papers and dashing out of the room.

"Ginny go with her." He mother ordered her while she dealt with the former DADA professor

"Headmaster." Ron said drawing the Headmaster's attention to him. "Where is Harry?"

"Harry's body is safe. He's currently in a hidden room in the hospital wing with Sirius. His mind is trapped inside. And that why I've summon all of you here."


	9. Chapter 9

_Daily Prophet  
All the News the Wizard Community Needs_

**THE BOY WHO LIVED MISSING? DEAD?**

Reported by Cat Matson

On Sept 1 as hundreds of students boarded the train for Hogwarts, no one noticed that one student was missing. That the Boy Who Lived wasn't among those happy students returning to school. It wasn't until after the Welcoming Feast that anyone noticed that Harry Potter was not at Hogwarts.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, immediately notified the Ministry of the Youth absence. However, it wasn't until late the next morning that anyone from Ministry was sent to investigate. But they did not arrive at Potter's residence to find the missing boy but rather to reverse what was assumed to be a case of accidental magic. Furthermore they were to deliver the necessary paper work to expel young Mr. Potter from Hogwarts.

When the members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department arrived at the residence Potter shared with his family, they discovered that the house had been ransacked and the family had been turned into animals.

Upon later investigation it was revealed that two unknown wizards had broken in and searched the residence. Furthermore these wizards tortured the family in an effort to learn of Potter's current residence before changing the family into beasts.

The official statement from the Ministry is that Potter ran away a week after returning home. However, many in the Ministry believe that either Potter or some unknown wizards created a false memory for the family and that Potter is, in fact, hiding for the crimes he has committed.

Continue A4

**CORRUPTION IN THE MINISTRY?**

Reported by Kindra Coates

Death Eaters freed? The innocent sent to Azkaban? Payoffs involved in the Boy Who Lived disappearance?

Trust in the Ministry is beginning to wane as more and more questions are being asked about how Minister Fudge is running his Ministry.

It has recently been revealed that after the fall of You-Know-Who, a large number of accused Death Eaters were freed without trial by order of Minister Fudge. It is this reporter’s belief that the only reason these accused criminals were freed was due to the fact that they were all rich, pureblood wizards.

Now many of those released by Fudge are once again being linked with the renewed Death Eaters’ activities.

While Death Eaters were being freed, did the innocents get sent to prison? In the case of Sirius Black, famed murderer and follower of the Dark Lord, the answer could be yes. Many are questioning the reasons why Fudge ordered Black to be imprisoned without trail.

Continue A6

**THE SECRETS AT THE POTTER'S RESIDENCE!**

Reported by Ardeth Bay

Had the Savior of the Wizard World been abused most of his life? Accusations have arisen that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, has been mentally, physically and possible sexually abused for most of his young life by the last of his remaining family.

Documentation provided from an undisclosed source points to the fact that while Albus Dumbledore was responsibility from the boy's safety from all forms of magical attack, the Ministry of Magic was required per the agreement to maintenance a surveillance at all times. 

When this reporter asked to review the reports on Potter's home life, I was first informed that the reports did not exist. Later I was contacted by a member of Fudge's staff and informed that the reports were classified until Potter's thirtieth birthday.

Continued A3

~*~

 

The soft sounds of the neighborhood waking up filled the master bedroom on the Dursley's residence.

Mumbling in his sleep Vernon rolled over onto his stomach, his arm reaching out for his beloved Petunia. His eyes slowly opened after his arm had flopped around in a vain search for his wife. "Petunia? Love?" He croaked out as he propped him self up on his elbow? "Dearest?"

Rolling out of bed and onto his feet, Vernon's hand automatically began to scratching his ass before adjusting himself. "Pet?" He called out as stumbled over to their private bathroom for a look inside. "Must be cooking breakfast." He mumbled to himself as he stumbled out of the bedroom. "Damn boy. Should have drowned him when we found the little bugger."

"Take that you..." drifted out of Dudley's room. Vernon made his way over to his son's bedroom. Bleary eyes, he opened his son's door and peaked in on the boy. "Nice tight ass. You're such a good fuck Harry." Dudley moaned in his sleep.

"That's my boy." Vernon said with pride as he shut the door. Smiling to himself, Vernon walked down the stairs, his head held up with pride at the thought of what a fine young man his son was growing into. "Petunia, my sweet? Where are you?" he called out

Vernon wandered around the house call his wife before finally making his way into the kitchen. Sticking his head, he opened the icebox and once again called out to his wife as he grabbed the milk. Slamming the door shut as he chugged the milk from the bottle, he finally noticed a letter on the door of the icebox.

 

_Dear Vernon,_

_By the time you read this letter I will be making my way out of the country for parts unknown. Don't bother trying to find me._

_I realized that you were playing a dangerous game when you started to encourage your son to play with that freak. I knew that they would not let anyone get away unpunished once they found out what you did. And they will find out. There is no way you could have hidden it from them. Not unless you kill the boy and now that's even too late._

_I decide that I wasn't going to let them find me. Therefore I'm leaving you and your son. I've taken my share of our savings- this includes the stock and the money you embezzled from the company._

_Did you really believed that I won't know about the embezzlement or that you were playing hide the salami with you secretary, Mr. McDonald? I had a long talk with Ronald a while ago about you and your sick habits. I knew about the business trips and the sudden expenses you've had over the years. You were never fooling me._

_You were always a lousy fuck in bed. My other lovers were always more passionate, more willing to indulge me in my dark desires. It was a struggle every night to crawl into bed next to your bloated form, to perform my wifely duties with you. You're were never concerned with my enjoyment, only your own sick pleasure._

_Therefore, Vernon, I leave you with the house, the car and that worthless piece of fat you call a son. He was once a bright wonderful child that you twisted and corrupted with your vile disease. I wash my hands of you, of your son and of my sister's brat._

_May you find forgiveness with whatever you believe in because you won't find it with those freaks._

_Petunia Evans_

 

"Petunia?" Vernon's lips began to tremble as he reread the letter again and again. "PETUNIA!!!" He cried out to the heavens before leaning his head against his folded arms on the table. His body racked with sobs.

 

~*~

 

The door opened onto a room lit by the light from the fire that was playing cheerfully in the hearth. A short balding man with thinning colorless hair entered the room, a silver tea set balanced in his hand. Shutting the door silently behind him, he padded over to the fireplace where a chair and table sat.

Placing the tea set on the table, the man poured a cup of tea into the fine bone china. "My Lord." He said in a firm voice as he handed the cup to the man hidden in the depths of the chair. The balding man stood tall, his shoulders thrown back with pride as he watched the fire, waiting for his Lord to speak.

A hand snaked out from the chair and placed the cup once again to the table and picked up the paper on the platter. The sound of the paper being unfolded filled the room for a second.

Time seemed to slow down as the Lord read the paper. "Wormtail?" a commanding voice emulated from the chair.

"My lord." The balding man replied.

"Summon my men." The voice said with a trace of worry. "My enemy is missing and I want him found."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first wrote this chapter Rowling had not told us what Ginny's real first name was. The most popular theory was that it was Virginia. Much later Rowling announced that it Ginevra.
> 
> I'm still trying to figure out how she go Ginny out of Ginevra since it's pronounced je-NEV-rah while Virgina is pronounced vir-JIN-yah

"Here's an interesting one Harry, first female Seeker of Hogwarts." Ginny said as she turned the pages of a thick book. "Elizabeth Black. I wonder if she related Sirius." She mumbled to herself as she glanced at the sleeping man next to Harry's bed.

Clearing her throat she began to read. "Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Black first female seeker of Hogwarts…" her voice trails off. "Bloody hell! Where's the rest of it? All they have are the scores of her games, nothing more." She mumbled aloud as she flipped through the book looking for more information on her. "They had more on other players so why not one her?"

"Because it was a great scandal at the time." A kindly voice said from the doorway.

Ginny jumped out of her at the unexpected voice, the book falling to the floor with a loud thump. Grasped her chest, Ginny panted. "Professor Dumbledore you startled me!"

With a soft chuckle Dumbledore stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. "I'm sorry child. I didn't mean to startle you. But in true I was not expecting to find you here. I was under the assumption that it was Sirius's time to sit with Harry." He said turning his attention to where Harry's godfather slept.

"It was sir. But I…" her voice trailed off as she studied the tops of her shoes.

"What did you do child?" The Headmaster asked in a kind but firm voice.

"Well I… He has been… And Snape, he made…" she stuttered around the answer.

"Virginia Weasley." Dumbledore said in a voice Molly always uses when one of her children was in trouble.

"I… I… I gave him a potion." Ginny ducked her head waiting for the explosion that was bound to follow.

Dumbledore settled in a chair at the foot of Harry's bed. His gazed wondered over Harry's still form. The bruises had slowly turned a sickly green color over the past week, his eyes were still vacate. "Please explain Miss Weasley." He said in a tired voice.

Ginny swallowed nervously before launching into her tale. "For the past few days Sirius hasn't been sleeping well and he been snapping at everyone about everything and anything. I think he's been having nightmare about you know." She said with a nod towards Harry. "Well I didn't think this was the right attitude to have around Harry right now. So I talked about it with Professor Snape and I…" Ginny took a deep breath. "I slipped a sleeping potion into his hot chocolate." She blurted out in one breath.

"I see." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. "And how long will Sirius be asleep?"

Ginny chewed on her bottom lips nervously. "I'm not sure sir." Her voice squeaked. "The potion was for him to sleep until his body was fully rested. Hermione, Ron and I had it planned that we would cover all of Sirius's shift until he woke up." She said bashfully.

Dumbledore nodded his head thoughtfully before leaning down and picking up the book Ginny had dropped. "Hogwarts History of Quidditch?" 

"It was my idea headmaster. I thought that if Harry could hear our voices that it would help bring him out. He would know that he was surrounded by people that love him." A blush came to her checks at the word love. "Hermione is reading History of Hogwarts and Ron is reading…." Her brow furrow with concentration. "Actually I'm not sure what he's reading to him."

Dumbledore chuckled at the young girl. "A wise idea on both count child. A wise ideas indeed. However I do wish you had come to me about as the Americans say slipping Sirius a Mickey."

"Yes Headmaster." Ginny said in a chastised voice, her head hanging low.

"I would have helped." Ginny's head jerked up in surprise. "Now I believe you were reading about Lizzy Black when I came in."

"Yes sir. But they didn't write anything about her." Ginny said her voice laced with confusion and frustration.

"You have to understand my dear child at that time a lady did not play Quidditch. So when a woman became the Gryffindor seeker, it was a great scandal." Dumbledore explain with a far away look in his eyes.

"But why sir? Why couldn't a woman play Quidditch? and how did she become a seeker if woman weren't allow?" Ginny blurted out as she sat on the edge of her chair.

"Ah now that is a tale." The headmaster said as he summoned two mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallow cream for them. "You must realized that at that time women where assumed to be too delicate to play such a rough and dangerous game such as Quidditch." Ginny snorted at that comment. "Because of that woman were forbidden to even try to play the game."

Dumbledore took a sip of his drink. Licking the marshmallows from his mustache he continues. "Now the Black family had very strong ideas on what a woman could and could not do. To put it simply they believed that a woman could do whatever she put her mind too. They were truly rebels at that time. Her family was much like your Ginny. They lived and breathed Quidditch. And Lizzy was the family seeker."

"Now during her second year the position of Seeker became available. So pulling her long hair under cap, she tried out for the team and won it easily. When they came to announce that Black was the new Gryffindor seeker, someone asked what his first name was." Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "You can image their reaction when she pulled her cap off, her long hair spilling down her back and she replying Elizabeth."

"So what happened. I mean she played as a seeker. The game scores are in the book. So how did she stay on the team if females weren't allowed to play." Ginny asked in confusion as she played with a strand of her hair.

His eyes twinkle merrily as Dumbledore continue the story. "As you can image the team pleaded with everyone for her to be removed from the team. But since there was no written rule against a female playing and because she was able to keep up with her schoolwork, there was nothing anyone could do."

"Gryffindor because the laughing stock of the school. Even her fellow Gryffindor turned against her much like they did to Harry during his second year."

"The first game of the season was Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, Hufflepuff favored to win due to Lizzy being on the team. The playing was intense. The Gryffindor team trying to get every point possible so they could win when the Hufflepuff seeker caught the snitch."

"It came to as a shock to everyone when Lizzy flew down and stopped Professor Oakhart, who was the referee of the game and slammed the golden snitch into his hand. She said she had caught it fives minutes ago. With that’s she walked out of the arena, her head held up high to the stun silence of the crowd."

Ginny chuckled at the tale. "I beat they were happy to have her on the team after that."

The Headmaster sighed sadly. "Unfortunately that was not the case. Many claim that she had cheated. While others claim that it was a case of dumb luck. After that game, her life became much worst. Students in every house started to taunt her and playing cruel pranks on her. Every the professor were unjust to her often grading her work harder than they did to other students. Everyone pressing her to quit because she was a female playing a man's game."

"So what happen? She continues to play. What changed?"

"Ah that was game in which Gryffindor played against Slytherin. By that team her team had turned completely against her to the point they didn't care if they won or lost, they just wanted her off the team." 

"The Slytherin beater would hit the bludger as often as they could during the game. While her team allowed them without trying to defend her at all. She was able to dodge most of the bludger with only a few injuries. When she caught sight of the snitch that’s when the Slytherin tactics change. You can image her racing after the snitch the Slytherin seeker on her tail as other member of the Slytherin team attacked as the could."

"Those dirty cheats!" Ginny snarled. "They could stand for the idea of being beat by a girl! Those lousy no good…"

"Virginia." The headmaster said with a disapproving look.

"Sorry Headmaster." Ginny said with a sheepish look on her face. "So what happened? Did she catch the snitch? How did she win her team approval?"

Dumbledore chuckled at the girl. "Yes she did caught the snitch and she won the game for Gryffindor, however the Slytherin team was able to seriously injury her."

"Now when she was release from the hospital wing that night she return to find a party to celebrate the Gryffindor win over the Slytherin. You can image her reaction to all the praise of what a fine team Gryffindor had. To their well-honed teamwork."

"How many did she send to the hospital wing?" Ginny asked with an evil smirk on her face as she image all the damage she would have done if she were in Lizzy's place.

"Surprisingly none. Although I would wager that a number of them should have seen the nurse." Dumbledore explain with a smirk on his face. "But the injuries she infected on them with her sharp tongue was the worst."

Ginny's grin grew larger as her eyes twinkled merrily. "What did she say to them?"

"Ah the exact words have been lost to history." Dumbledore explained sadly. "But I believe the general tone was that she was the one who won the game even with her teammate help. At that a real Gryffindor would be supportive of her. Would support her in breaking new ground for women. That a real Gryffindor would have gone to the hospital to visit her.

 

~*~

 

"Ahh Paris." Petunia sigh happily as she sipped her cappuccino. "No other city like it."

Her hand brushed a strand of her new hairstyle behind her ear. Her lips pulled back in a heart felt smile as her eyes twinkled. "I'm in Paris and I'm free. Free of that bloated excuse of a man and his bastard son."

"Excusez-moi madame , mais est ce jeu prise?" asked man. He swept his blond hair out of his face as his gray eyes took in the sight of Petunia hungry.

She swallowed nervously as a blush appeared on her face. "Désolé. Parlez peu le français."

"English?" The handsome man suddenly said with a proper British accent

"Yes!" Petunia said with a giggle. "Petunia Evans." She introduced herself holding her hand out to him.

"Lucius Malfoy." He replied as he turned her hand over so he could kiss the back of it. "How could it be that such a beautiful woman such as yourself is alone in Paris. Or am I mistake?"

"You're not mistake." Petunia looking away in shame. "I'm here in Paris recovering from a nasty divorce." She said with a straight face as she lied convincingly.

"I…" Malfoy stuttered a little. He licked his lips as he struggled around what he was going to say. "Paris is not a city to be alone in. Would you like to join me for dinner? I know a little place just down the way. We could sit and eat.

 

 

***

Translation:

Excusez-moi madame , mais est ce jeu prise - Pardon me madam but is this set taken?"

Désolé. Parlez peu le français. - Sorry. Speak little French.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I screwed up the French. I used an online translating site


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Seamus as he dropped his books and scrolls on the table next to Neville.

"It's almost time." Neville replied cryptically as he glanced to the door.

"Time for what?” Seamus asked as opened up his tomes.

"It's time for Neville's conspiracy theory." Dean replied in a spooky tone.

"Conspiracy theory?" Seamus asked as he looked back and forth between Neville and Dean in confusion.

Neville looked back and forth between Seamus and Dean then around the room, looking for someone listening in. "Can I trust you?” he asked, his voice so quiet that only the other two boys could hear him.

Both boys nodded their heads as they edged closer to Neville. "You know it, Neville.” Seamus replied.

"Ok, I'm trusting you with this.” Neville looked around once again. "Tell me, how many points have you lost from Gryffindor, Seamus?” he asked.

Seamus stared at Neville in confusion before answering with a shrug. "Ten. I sneezed in a potion. Twice."

"And you, Dean?” Neville asked as he turned his attention to the other boy

Dean started to turn red. "Twenty. Snape...” He mumbled.

Neville leaned back slightly and crossed his arms. "And how many detentions have you both received?"

"One." Dean replied. "Snape caught me pulling a prank on Malfoy. That’s how I lost the points."

"None." Seamus said as shrugged in confusion. "What's your point Neville? That Snape is an ass? We all know that."

"How many detentions have Ron and Hermione had?" 

Dean and Seamus shrugged. "I don't know, maybe half a dozen or so,” Seamus said.

"It seems like they're having detention almost every other day,” Dean chimed in.

"And how many points have they lost."

"Well they…” Seamus's voice trailed off as his brows furrowed in thought.

Dean and Seamus remained in silence as they thought while Neville looked on with a smug expression. "Not one point." Neville finally answered his question confidently.

"That can't be right!" Seamus exclaimed. "I mean they… all the detentions…"

"I've checked with same of Ginny's classmates and the same thing is going on with her. They seem to cycle through detentions. Tonight it's Ron; tomorrow will be Ginny and then Hermione. And then it will start over again. The teachers are assigning them detentions for almost anything but they're not losing points.'

"So they're getting a lot of detentions, without losing points. What's your point? The professors may be taking it easy on them due to Harry being missing." 

"Ok then. Tell me, where are they serving their detentions?” Neville asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Cleaning something awful for Snape in the dungeons, scrubbing all the awards for Filch in the trophy room, or heading into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid,” Dean stated. "How should I know?"

"They're not. I've checked with the other people who've been serving detention at the same time and they told me that none of them have show up for their detentions even once!"

"Ok, so where are they? What are they doing?"

"That's the question." Neville stated. "I've tried to follow them but the professors are running interference for them."

The boys sat in silence as Seamus and Dean digested what Neville had just explained to them. "Have you asked them what was going on? What they were doing?" Seamus finally asked.

"Yep. Detention."

"Damn. What is going on?"

Neville shook his head. "All I know is that in about five minutes Ron will walk in through the portrait and then sit down over there." Neville stated as he pointed over to the fireplace where Ginny and Hermione sat in together.

"Does anyone else know about your theory? Does anyone else suspect?" Seamus whispered as if some how what they were talking about could endanger their friends.

"No.” Neville said looking down at table before looking once again at his friends. "Just the three of us. Swear to me that you won't tell anyone what I just told to you. Swear on your wands."

At that moment, the Fat Lady swung open and in shuffled a wearily looking Ron. The three boys watched as Ron walked over to were Hermione and his sister sat. With a shake of his head, he collapsed onto the couch next to Hermione.

"So what do we do know?” Dean asked.

 

~*~

 

"Anything?” Hermione asked anxiously as she rested her head on Ron's shoulder.

Ron shook his head ‘no’ as he stared into the fire. "I finished the Origin of Quidditch today. I don't know what to read to him next." He replied in a dead, hopeless voice. "I don't know if he'll ever wake up."

"He will, Ron.” Ginny stated confidently as she reached out and squeezed his hand. "We can't ever give up hope on him. He'll come out of it. I know he will.” Tears ran down Ginny's face as she tried to make Ron believe.

"She's right Ron. We just have to have faith in Harry." Hermione agreed as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "He just has to realize that no one out here will hurt him. That he's safe."

"But how long will it take?” Ron whispered. "How long?"

"As long as it takes." Ginny answered as she left he seat and sat down next to Ron and leaned into him. "I'll wait for him… _We'll_ wait for him as long as it takes."

Ron wrapped his arms around the women of his life and pulled them closer. "You right, Ginny. As long as it takes." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head before resting his head against Hermione. "And we’ll be there when he wakes up."

They sat together, drawing strength and support from each other as everyone else in the room went on with their business.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione squealed when the cat jumped on her lap. "Are you trying to cheer me up." Hermione cooed as she hugged the cat towards her.

“Shoo, SHOO!!” Ron cried angrily as he swatted the ginger feline away, causing it to hiss at him madly.

Hermione glared at the red head with distain before her expression softened to one of deep thought.

"By Merlin's beard!” Hermione suddenly exclaimed snapping her fingers. "That's it! That's it!"

 

~*~

 

"Come on." Dean whispered as he threw his books into his bag. "Let's follow them."

Following Dean's lead, the other boys gathered their homework. "We'll have to watch out for the professors. They'll watch for people following them." Neville explained as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"Right." Dean said with a nod of his head. "I'm glad you found that book on Hobart the Invincible in library. I was going crazy trying to find it for class." He said loud enough so his fellow Gryffindor assumed the trio was going to the library.

"It was in between Himalayan Creatures and Invisibility Beasts. I have no clue why a book on Goblin Wars was in the section on magical creatures." Neville explained as he caught onto Dean's cover story.

Seamus snorted. "Have you seen a picture of Hobart the Invincible?" He asked as the three boys slipped out through portrait.

The boys quickly shoved their book bags behind a suit of armor. "Ok, which way?"

"This way.” Neville said as he headed towards tower in which the Arithmancy classes were held. "I've been able to track them this far, before I run into a teacher."

"So we'll have to be careful.” Dean replied. "Let’s stick to the shadows."

The boys ran down the halls, listening the whole time for Ron, Hermione and Ginny or a teacher.

"Hermione, tell us!" Ron's peeved voice echoed down the halls.

"Be patient, Ron. We're almost there.” Hermione's calm voice replied.

Neville motioned Dean and Seamus for silence. "Around here, I normally run into someone; most of the time it’s Snape."

A dark, bat-like shadow appeared behind the boys suddenly, "I assume you have a good reason of being in this area after hours?”

The boys turned to face the Potion Master with dread. Severus Snape sneered menacingly at the boys. "Well? I'm waiting."

"I want to know what you and the other professors are covering up.” Longbottom suddenly said, finding the strength to face his teacher.

"And what am I covering up, Mr. Longbottom?” Snape asked sardonically, never missing a beat.

"Ron, Ginny, and Hermione always receive tons of detentions while never losing points. They're claiming to go to detentions, yet they have never been seen there.” Neville stated, as like a shark he smelled the blood in the water. "Tell me, Professor Snape, where did Ron serve his detention tonight?"

"I told you someone would become suspicious.” Snape said as he glanced up and looked past the young boys.

"Yes, yes. You were quite right, Severus.” Albus Dumbledore suddenly appeared behind the boys. "I'm curious, which one of you figured it out?"

"I did, sir.” Neville replied as he turned to face the headmaster. "Am I correct in assuming that this has to do with Harry?"

"Who else knows?” Snape snapped suddenly, a dangerous glint his sinister eyes.

"Severus, calm yourself. We all knew that it was a only a matter of time before someone would find out.” Dumbledore said with a trace of pride for his young students. "Now, why don't we find out what has Miss Granger so excited?” With that, the headmaster turned and walked down the hall.

 

~*~

 

"She was nothing but rubbish, just like her sister and that brat child of hers!” Marge snarled like one of her bulldogs. "And cleaning out your bank accounts! She's a harlot! I can't see what you ever saw in such a… woman!"

Sitting down at the dinner table, Marge began to load her plate full of mounds of fried chicken, ham, steamed potatoes, and baked beans, all dripping with grease. "Luckily OUR family's genes are stronger than anything _that_ woman passed along to my Dudders.” She boomed as she glanced over where Dudley sat shoveling forkfuls of oily food down his throat. 

"Marge…” Vernon tried to get a word in as his sister continues to talk non-stop.

"Just you watch, when she runs out of money she'll run back on her hands and knees to you, begging you to take her back!” Marge announced with pride.

"Marge—"

"And of course, you won't take her back.” She went on, never hearing her brother as she puffed her chest out. "No self-respecting Dursley would ever take such horrible a woman back! She would be a bad influence on our poor Dudley."

"MARGE!” Vernon practically had to shout at this his sister to get through to her.

"Yes, Vernon? You wanted to say something?” Marge asked bemusedly as she poured the steaming black coffee. "You know you really don't have to shout, I can hear you quite well."

"Marge…” Vernon said pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Marge, something has come up at work and I'm going to have to go for a while." 

"Oh!” She replied in surprise. "I'm sure my Dudders won't mind staying with me, won’t you, my dear?” Marge said turning to Dudley as the filled his plate once again.

"Of course not, Aunt Marge. It would be a pleasure to stay with you.” Dudley replied innocently as he tried to charm his enormous aunt. "I'll be able to spend some quality time with Ripper. He's such a wonderful bulldog. I would love to learn how you trained him. Do you think you can teach me?"

Marge swelled with pride. "Oh course I can! Before you know it, the name of Dudley Dursley will be on everyone's lips as the best trainer of pure breeds in Great Britain. Someday you could be the winner of Best of Show at the Winchester Dog Show."

"Thank you Marge. I don't know what I would have done without you.” Vernon said with barely restrained irritation as he pushed his chair away from the table. "I'm sorry to have to eat and run, but you know the saying, ‘time is money.’"

In no time, Vernon was pulling the front door shut leaving his sister and son behind. "That’s strange." Dudley said with a confused look on his face.

"What is, Dudley?” Marge replied as she fed her ferocious bulldog some ham from the table.

"When did dad get a job?” he mused to himself. "Grunnings went out of business in the beginning of August."

 

~*~

 

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!" Petunia screamed as she was pushed into a stately den. "MY HUSBAND IS A VERY IMPORTANT MAN!!! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!!"

A masked man stepped up to her and backhanded her across the face, knocking her off her feet. "Shut up, wench.” The man snarled icily at her.

"Lucius, that is hardly necessary.” A deep voice said from a figure wrapped in shadow that was sitting in a high back chair.

"I'm sorry, Master.” Lucius replied as he bowed to the figure in the chair.

"And who is this… creature?” the figure asked as Petunia wiped the blood from her mouth.

"I am Petunia Evans,” Petunia stated vehemently with as she angrily flung her hair over her shoulder, "and I demand to be released."

"She's Potter's aunt, my Lord.” Lucius explained. "I found her in Paris, hiding."

The room was completely silent as those inside waited for their Master to speak. "Mrs. Dursley, did you really get sexual excited when you beat and tortured your own flesh and blood?"

"No, NO! That's a lie!” Petunia said in a panic as she struggled to her feet. "Did Harry tell you that?!? That boy hates us. He faked it all and ran away!"

" _July 23rd. Ok, Aunt Petunia is scarier and meaner than Vernon is. I’ll skip the details, too tired to care. Today it was Aunt Petunia’s turn to beat me and she enjoyed it. After she was finished she dragged Vernon off to bed._ ” The figure read aloud. "Did you know your nephew was keeping a journal? It's all in here—All the abuse, the torture, the hatred.” He explained as he waved papers around.

"My husband! My husband made me do it." She pleaded as she backed away from them until her back was pressed against the wall.

"Did you know that when a witch or wizard writes in blood they can not lie?" The man leaned forward; he leaned into the light.

Petunia gasped at the sight. Her eyes widened with horror as she stared at the serpentine man with cruel crimson eyes shining with hatred and evil. "Who…WHAT are you!?!"

"I? I am Lord Voldemort.” He said with a thin-lipped smile as he rose out of the chair and stalked around Petunia. "I am the one who killed your sister and her husband. I am the one that caused your nephew to scream out at night from his nightmares. I am the one who holds your puny life in my hands."

Voldemort from her and walked back to the fireplace. "Tell me, Mrs. Dursley, where is your nephew now?” He asked as he stared into the crackling fire.

"I-I don't know. He was gone when we woke." Petunia managed to stutter out with tangible fear in her eyes "Maybe his teachers know were he is… the two teachers that came to the house, yes, maybe they know."

"His teachers came to your home?"

Petunia nodded her head nervously. "They destroyed the front door and turned us into animals. It was a-a woman and a man. I don't remember their names."

"What did they look like?" Lucius suddenly asked.

"Umm…. Th-the woman…she had long, salt-and-pepper hair. Her name was… umm…. Mina… Merna…" She stuttered as she tried to remember. "His Godfather!!! The man said he had seen the boy. That his godfather had him."

"Black, Sirius Black. So that means Potter is in Dumbledore's hands." Voldemort snarled in frustration. "The man, what did the man look like?"

"He... he was…" Petunia closed her eyes as she tried to remember. "Tall, dark hair, Very pale"

"Severus." Lucius said. "I told you he couldn't be trusted."

The Dark Lord turned towards Malfoy. "Crucio." Voldemort said in a calm deadly voice. Lucius collapsed to the floor screaming, clawing at his flesh.

Petunia let out a small squeaked as she saw what this monster was capable of doing. Suddenly, she ran for the door, trying to escape these fiends.

"Where do you think you're going?" Voldemort asked as turned from Lucius as he thrashed on the floor. "I didn't give you permission to leave."

Petunia suddenly flew into the air. "Please, please let me go!” She begged as she floated in the air.

"Wormtail."

"Yes Master." Short balding man said as he steps out from the shadows.

"Take this… woman down to a cell. I'll decide her fate later." Voldemort then turned his attention once more to Malfoy. With a wave of his hand, his punishment of Lucius ended. "Remember next time, Malfoy, not to question my decisions."

Malfoy shakily raised to his hands and feet. "Y-yes M-master."

"Oh, and Malfoy. I still want Potter found."


	12. Chapter 12

"Hermione, calm down!" Remus's voice floated down the stairs to the ears of Neville, Seamus, Dean, and their teachers. "Now what is going on?"

"I don't know why I didn't realize it earlier. I mean, Muggle doctors are using this treatment with a number of patients!" Hermione rambled loudly to herself as she ignored what Remus had asked. "And it's been successful in a number of cases."

Neville opened the door so not to disturb anyone in the room, not that it would matter: they were all in trance by Hermione as she paced back and forth with Crookshanks in her arms, berating herself with every step.

"How could I have been so idiotic? My Aunt Evy has been doing research into the subject for the National Health Service. She's currently in America because a hospital there is doing research there to see if it will help patients with brain damage. In her last letter, she stated that it seems to be working, but they won't have conclusive evidence for years," Hermione explained all this in one breath as she continued to pace.

Ron watched his best friend with awe. "I wonder how she breathes sometimes," he mused out of the corner of his mouth to Ginny, who just nodded her head in similar bemusement.

"Miss Granger, perhaps you would explain it to us,” the Headmaster prompted as he stepped around Neville into the room.

Hermione twirled around to face the kind face of Albus Dumbledore. "Professor, I figured out a way…" her jaw dropped as she spied her fellow Gryffindors walking into the room followed by a peeved and sneering Professor Snape.

"What are _they_ doing here?" Ginny asked as her eyes narrowed at the sight at of the boys, her wand suddenly appearing in her hand.

"I've been wondering the same thing," a deep, rich voice said behind them, as the door slammed shut.

The three boys turned at one to see who had closed the door. "Si… Sirius… Sirius Black." Dean stuttered as Neville and Seamus fumbled for their wands.

A mischievous grin appeared on Sirius's face, which caused Dean to pale and to drop his wand, as he gave the young Gryffindors a mock bow. "I see my fame has proceeded me," he stated regally as he walked around the boys towards a curtained off bed, his eyes boring into the boys the whole time.

"Stop right there, Black!" Neville commanded as he aimed his wand right at Sirius' heart. "Don't force me to do something I might regret."

"Don't you dare try to hurt Sirius, Neville Longbottom!" Ginny growled evilly as she took a step in between of the boys and Sirius, placing herself in harms way. "If you try to harm Sirius in any way, I'll make sure you're under Madam Pomfrey's care for a month." 

"When did she become so violent?" Hermione whispered to Ron as she looked at her friend in shock.

With a shrug of his shoulders Ron answered nonchalantly, "Must be that time of the month."

"Make another comment like that, Ronald Andrew Weasley, and I'll hurt you." His sister snarled at her big brother.

"She's reminding me more and more of Lily every day," Sirius commented with a trace of pride for the red haired girl.

"Especially when you're involved. But then again, she was always threatening you,” Remus added amusedly out of the corner of his mouth.

A cheesy grin crossed Sirius's face. "True. So true. I especially like the time she threatened to shave me like a French Poodle"

" **What's going on here**?" Neville snapped loudly as he watched with horror at his former DADA teacher joking with a mass murderer, and Professor Dumbledore looking on with pride and amusement at his current and former students. "Sirius Black has trying to kill Harry ever since he escaped! Mb >He's a Deatheater!"

"Actually, he's not. My rat, Scabbers, is." Ron replied calmly while the three boys looked upon him like he'd gone insane.

" **WHAT**?"

"Ron's rat, Scabbers, was… I mean, is an Animagus." Hermione stated promptly in a 'know it all' tone. "His name is Peter Pettigrew. He was able to convince Harry's parents and Sirius to make him the secret keeper in the Fidelius Charm, so that Voldemort would never find them. However, what they didn't know was that Peter was also a Deatheater. As soon as he became the secret keeper, he told Voldemort where Lily and James Potter were hiding. Peter was also the one who killed all those Muggles on Pocock Street in order to frame Sirius."

"So you're saying that he's _innocent_?" Seamus exclaimed as he pointed at Sirius. "The Ministry **doesn't** send innocent people to Azkaban! The Ministry doesn't make mistakes like that!"

"You're right, Seamus. The Ministry doesn't make mistakes," Ginny said. "Just like the Ministry **doesn't** allow someone to be tortured, abused, and raped to save a Sickle." Ginny pulled the curtain surrounding the bed back to reveal Harry sleeping.

"Harry,” the boys whispered frantically to themselves as they stared with looks of shock at their friend. Their eyes traveled down his painfully thin body, taking in the sickly green bruises, which stood out against his pale skin. "What's wrong with him? What happened?"

Over the next hour and a half, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, and Remus took turns explaining how the Marauders came to be betrayed by Wormtail, how Sirius was imprisoned, how he escaped, and why Harry was being hidden at Hogwarts.

"Fudge would probably send Harry to St Mungos if he could get a hold of him,” Ron explained disdainfully with his arms crossed over his chest staring at the floor. "Or Fudge might even send him back to his relatives so they could finished the job. Either way, Harry would be no longer a problem for him."

"He would make it so no one would believe us about Voldemort's rebirth until it was too late," Hermione added dejectedly.

Neville chewed on his bottom lip as he paced back and forth, thinking. Suddenly, he stopped and turned towards the others. "Is Fudge a Deatheater?"

The expression of shock and horror raced across the faces of those in the room, slowly each set of eyes turned towards Professor Snape. His head was bowed in thought. "I don't seem to recall ever seeing that idiot at any of the meetings nor hearing his name mentioned. But I do remember that a number of high ranking Ministry members were either being recruited by or already being loyal to the Dark Lord."

Ron snorted at the Potion Master's comment. "Knowing the Minister, he would give Harry to Voldemort on a silver platter if it meant he remained in power."

Sirius began to pace the room angrily. "Great! So now we not only have to guard Harry against Voldy and his Deathies, but also against Fudge for brains and anyone loyal to him."

"I think you’ll find that there are very few who are actually loyal to Fudge," Dumbledore announced quietly from his chair next to Harry's bed. "Right now, most are confused, but when the time comes, you will find them loyal to the side of Light. They will protect Harry for us."

Sirius stopped his pacing next to Harry's bed. He stared down sadly at the sleeping form of his godson before reaching out and gently brushed a lock of hair out of his face. "Hermione you said that you figured out a way to help Harry," He said sadly finally looking at the young woman. "How?"

Hermione's face broke into a giant grin. "This is how!" She held up her cat towards Sirius.

The small trace of hope in Sirius's eyes fade as he stared into the oddly squashed face of Crookshanks. "Hermione, that’s a cat,” Remus stated with disappointment in his voice.

"Exactly!" Hermione squealed. "Now, I think that we can use Crookshanks, Hedwig, Sirius, and Professor McGonagall. I'm not really sure if Sirius and McGonagall will work. Well, I'm pretty sure Sirius will; Harry always reacted positively to him,” she babbled as she paced back and forth.

"Hermione could you please explain what you are talking about?" Ginny snapped in frustration.

"Animal therapy," Hermione replied simply as she took in their confused looks. "In a number of Muggle hospitals they are using animals to speed up the healing process. Sometimes, the animal is able to bring a person out of a coma."

"Let me get this straight, Miss Granger," Professor Snape spoke up with a sneer. "You're suggesting that we introduce _animals_ to Potter in the hopes of waking him up?" 

"Precisely!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly as she grinned like a madman. 

"Wonderful, one by one, the Gryffindors are going insane," Snape muttered sardonically under his breath.

Dumbledore smiled at his Potion Master. "Come now, Severus. If the Gryffindors weren't insane, what fun would there be in the world?"

Snape crossed his arms in front of him and stared at the Headmaster, who in return, sucked on a lemon drop and smiled serenely back.

While this was going on, Sirius had reached out and began to stroke Crookshanks' head, lost in thought. "Do you think this will work?" Remus asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "But it couldn't hurt." 

"It'll work," Sirius said with determination. "I don't know how, but it will work."

With a nod of his head, Sirius directed Hermione to place Crookshanks on Harry's bed. Once on the bed the cat looked up at Hermione and then over at Harry. Then, with grace only a cat possessed, Crookshanks walked up Harry's bed and climbed on to his chest. Crookshanks looked down into Harry's battered face before curling up on the boy's chest as he began to purr.

 

~*~

 

"My Lord," the masked figure of Snape said as he kneeled in front of the snake-like man feared across the land.

Voldemort waved to Snape to rise to his feet. "What news from Hogwarts? What news on the boy?" he asked as he stroked the head his large snake.

"There is nothing to report my Lord. There has been no sign of the brat since his disappearance," Snape replied with only a trace of confusion in his voice.

"He lies," Lucius Malfoy countered icily as he stepped out from the shadows. "My son, Draco, says there have been strange occurrences at the school. And that at the beginning of the term you rushed out of the Great Hall behind a black hound, the very day Potter was kidnapped."

"Lucius, I did not give you permission to speak," Voldemort hissed as he turned his attention to the self-important pure blood.

Malfoy swallowed nervously, realizing he had over stepped his master's limits. "No, my Master. Please forgive me," he begged as dropped onto one knee.

Voldemort allowed his gazed to rest on Malfoy for a moment before finally speaking. "I will this time, Lucius, but next time I may not be as forgiving."

"My Lord," Snape spoke up drawing the Dark Lord's attention back to him. "I do not know what Malfoy or his spawn may have told you, but I did not follow a dog out of the Great Hall nor do I know of any stranger than usual occurrences at the school."

"Have you ever been to the young Mr. Potter's home, Severus?" Voldemort asked as he changed the subject

"Potter's home?" Snape said in confusion. "No my Lord. I've never been at his home."

"That is strange, my little spy, because I have it from a reliable source that you and Dumbledore's pet cat was at the Potter residence the very day he vanished." Voldemort leaned forward as he stared directly into the Potion Master's eyes, daring him to deny the truth. "What do you have to say for this?"

"I swear to you, my Lord, as a loyal Deatheater. I have never been to the Potter residence," Snape's eyes flickered over to Malfoy. "And I have never followed a black hound out of the Great Hall."

The Dark Lord leaned back his hands peaked in front of him. "You are lying to me, Severus." A smirk appeared on Malfoy's face at the thought of the punishment Voldemort would inflict on the Potions Master, however it was quickly wiped away with Voldemort's next words. "And yet, you are also speaking the truth." 

Severus blinked up at his master in confusion. "How is…? Someone has messed with my mind," he growled angrily as he realized what had happen.

"Yes, undoubtedly it was that old fraud, thinking that I would be foolish enough not to see the truth or powerful enough to undo his little spell," he said with a snap of his wand sending a spell towards his spy.

Snape's head snapped back as the spell hit him in the chest. His backed arched as his hands clawed at his body trying to rip out the source of the pain. His eyes rolled back into his as the whites of his eyes began to turn red with blood. His mouth opened in a silent scream as the Dark magic ripped through his mind.

He finally collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting like a broken horse. "I will cut his heart out with a spoon for what's he's done to me," Snape snarled as he raised his head.

"A spoon?" Lucius asked with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Why a spoon?"

"Cause it will hurt more, you twit!" Snape snapped at his fellow Deatheater.

A softy chuckle drew the men's attention back. A kind smile was on Voldemort's face. "I believe you have information about the Potter child for me, Severus?"

"I do indeed, my Lord," Snape replied, a cruel smile on his face, his eyes twinkling with malice.

 

~*~

 

Fudge stormed into his office, throwing his overcoat and hat at his secretary. "Coffee, black. Last night’s report, now!" he snapped at the young mousy woman and threw open the door to his private office.

"Minister Fudge?" the young woman timidly prompted as she picked up the Minister's hat off the floor. "Sir?"

"What?" Fudge turned and snarled at his secretary, causing the girl to pale and to shake nervously.

"Umm… Sir… There's more…" she stuttered as she twisted the overcoat in her hands.

"More what, Miss Dwain?" Fudge snarled as his eyes narrowed with contempt for this young woman.

"Howlers, sir," Miss Dwain flinched as if expecting to be attacked by her boss. "Also a number of requests from news agencies and foreign governments for a meeting concerning Mr. Potter’s disappearance and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his relatives."

The Ministry marched up in his secretary. "I don't care if Odin himself appeared in my office asking about that brat," Fudge snarled in the woman's face. "You will send all the Howlers to the Department of National Security as terrorist threats against me. Unless the reporter is on my list of approved people, tell them to shove it up their ass. As for those bloody foreigners, tell them to go back to whatever rock they crawled out of and leave me to run my own country!"

"Y.. Ye.. Yes sir," Dwain mumbled as Fudge slammed the door to his office shut hard enough to make the portrait of his predecessor to fall to the floor. "Bloody git. Hope a Dementor gives you a kiss!"

 

~*~

 

The door to Harry's room swung open just enough for the head of a red haired Gryffindor to pop in and look around.

Remus looked up from his book as the door open. "Ginny?" he prompted when he spotted her. "What are you doing here?" He asked with a quick glance out the windows to confirm that it was still hours before sunset.

"I wanted to see how Harry was." She replied as she slipped the rest of the way into the room. "Has there been any change?" She reached out and stroked Snuffles' head as it rested on Harry's chest.

"Some," Remus said as he closed his book. "He seems to responds to Sirius more than McGonagall or Crookshanks."

Snuffles opened his eyes and yawned before slipping off the bed and changing back into his human form. "I should be worried, shouldn't I," he announced as he eyed the youngest Weasley seriously.

"Of course not," Ginny responded in an offended tone. "Why should you be worried?"

Remus licked his lips nervously. "Well, it is a Hogsmeade weekend. I would have expected you to be in town with the others."

"Yeah, we never missed a weekend unless it was because of a detention or a prank," Sirius mused wistfully as he remembered his time at Hogwarts.

"Oh, I’ve already been to Hogsmeade, " Ginny replied innocently. "I was able to get everything I need, so I came back."

"Oh," Remus and Sirius replied as the continued to eye the fiery red head warily.

"I picked up something for Harry, too," she continued with an innocent look.

"Oh," the men replied with dread as they unconsciously took a step away from the Weasley girl.

Ginny reached up and pulled a bag off her bag. "I figured that Professor McGonagall, Crookshanks, and Sirius couldn't always be with Harry, and that Hedwig isn't exactly cuddly. Sorry, Hedwig." She said to the Harry's owl who only days ago was released from Hagrid's' care.

The men's eyes the bag nervously, especially when it started to move. "Ginny, what did you buy for Harry?" Remus asked finally breaking the silence.

Ginny smiled serenely up at the men, her face angelic with its pure innocence. She then untied the bag and reached inside. "I figured Harry need someone to cuddle with," she explains as she pulled out a small jet-black kitten with a tiny pink nose. The kitten let out a tiny meow as he squinted it's large emerald eyes that sparkled like large jewels at the suddenly daylight.

Ginny placed the kitten on Harry's chest. The kitten looked up at her, over at Harry as he slept, then up once again at Ginny, before returning its attention to Harry. The kitten cocked its head at Harry before letting out a meow. He carefully walked his way down Harry's chest until he was next to Harry's face. The kitten let out a meow before beginning to clean his face with its pink tongue.

"Do you know how much trouble a cat is?" Sirius asked with a dark eyebrow raised as he stared down at the tiny kitten.

"That's a perfect name for him, Sirius," Ginny replied sweetly, bouncing on the balls of her feet, grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks."

"What name?" Sirius asked with dread.

"Trouble."


	13. Chapter 13

The deafening silence of the perfectly still night was broken by the soft crackling of the glowing hearth, the quiet scratches of the Headmaster's quill against the parchment, the occasional mummer from Fawkes, and the rustles from the many dust covered tomes that littered Albus Dumbledore’s desk.

The office door silently opened, ushering in the imposing form of Snape, with his face covered in red claw marks and the whites of his eyes tinted crimson— the color of blood. His wand suddenly appeared in his hand as he fixed his steely glare at the Headmaster. He raised his wand so that it pointed at Dumbledore’s heart, waiting for the old man to notice him.

Albus Dumbledore raised his head slowly from his work and peered introspectively at his trusted Potion Master and at the wand pointed at his heart.

"I hate you." Severus hissed venomously with all the hate and malice that he had hid within the depths of his soul, his wand never wavering from his intended victim.

Albus slowly set his quill down on his desk, his eyes never straying from the threat in from of him. "Did he believe?"

"Yes," Snape cried out impatiently as he lost the rigid stance that he had held, his wand dropping to his side. "By the Gods, I hate that man." Snape plopped tiredly into the chair in front of wizened wizard’s desk.

"What happened, my child?" Dumbledore asked concernedly as he poured Snape and himself a cup of tea.

Severus sat and sipped his tea quietly, gathering his thoughts before relaying what had occurred during the meeting. "I'm concerned about the source of the Dark Lord’s information. Who do you think told him I was at Potter's residence? And what happened to those Muggles?"

"Ah, the Dursleys." The twinkle in Dumbledore's periwinkle blue eyes hardened as he spoke. All around them, the trinkets in the room shook with the Headmaster’s anger. "I've been able to locate the boy, he is with his aunt right now. It seems as if both of his parents have abandoned him. Petunia was last seen on a ferry leaving for Dover. I still have my men searching for her. As for Mr. Dursley, he was last seen in Midlands. He has unfortunately slipped through our fingers."

 

~*~

 

Vernon stood at the side of the road, cursing the car, his wife, his son and of course, Harry, as he tried to repair the flat tire. "Damn bastard! Should have drowned him from the start." He muttered bitterly to himself as he pulled the spare from the boot. "Should have never married that whore when I found out about her sister."

The weeks on the run from the wizarding community had not been kind to Vernon. His skin now had a sickly yellow shade to it as it hung loosely from his body in flaps, due to rapid lost of weight. His eyes were ringed with dark shadows, making it appear as if he had two black eyes.

" _They_ probably made the tire go flat," he continued to grumble to himself as he tightened the last nut on the wheel. "They think they can catch _me_! They won't! God is on my side. Those freaks will never find me. Nope, never find me. I lost them last time, and they're never going find me now!"

Putting the jack back into the boot, he continued to talk to himself. "It's not like it was my fault. That little slut wanted me to do it. He made me do it."

Vernon started up the car and got back on the road. "It wasn't my fault." He mumbled as he drove past the road sign saying 'Welcome to Liverpool.'

 

~*~

 

Remus Lupin sat comfortably next to Harry's bed reading aloud from a book. " _The old man appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Except for his costume, which was even stranger than the medieval clothing the other dream people wore — the cerulean blue robes embroidered with silver moons and stars —he looked exactly the same as he had a few minutes ago out in the meadow._

_"Taliesin," Hall called out in recognition._

_The old man inclined his head. "That is my name by birth. But here I am known as Merlin." He smiled and bowed with a graceful flourish. "Welcome to Camelot."_

"A new book?" Dumbledore asked shutting the door behind him.

A soft woof came from Snuffles as he lay on the bed next to Harry. "The Forever King, by Cochran and Murphy." Remus softly replied with a shrug as he handed the book to the Headmaster. "Sirius seems to like it."

Snuffle's tongue hung droopily out of his jaws as he nodded his head happily.

Dumbledore handed the book back to Remus. "And Harry?"

Remus smiled down at the boy lying in the bed, his pallid hand intertwined with Snuffle's fur. "Improving. Hermione was right. It's a slow process, but he's starting to come out of it. He doesn't flinch any more if Snuffles or Trouble is with him." The Headmaster slowly nodded his head as he gazed down at the child he failed.

"Albus?" Remus asked softly, drawing the old wizard out of his thoughts. "What's going to happen when Harry awakes?"

"I don't know Remus." Dumbledore answered sadly. "I don't know."

 

~*~

 

Sirius sat in the chair next to Harry's bed reading his morning paper, sipping tea. Slowly his eyes began to close, his head sinking to his chest. With a jerk Sirius snapped himself out of a light dose. "I need to get more sleep," he mumbled half-heartedly as he poured himself another cup of tea, the wispy tendrils of steam tickling his nostrils as he took in the pleasant aroma.

Blowing the steam away, Sirius carefully took a swig of the bitter hot liquid. Yawning widely, he ran his free hand tiredly through his hair as he rest his other arm on the armrest of the wooden chair. Slowly, his eyes closed again only to be jerked awake again.

"Maybe I should switch to coffee," he joked with himself as he eyed his cup of tea. Once again his eyes began to close, his head slumping forward as he fell asleep.

"WOW! SHIT!" Sirius jumped hysterically from his seat, brushing frantically at his leg where he had spilled hot tea over himself.

Sirius let out a deep sigh as he looked down at the empty teacup on the floor, his comfortable chair and his wet pant leg. "Right. Time to… yawn… get… yawn… som…" Sirius collapsed to the floor in a deep sleep.

Sitting on top of Harry's chest, Trouble watched closely as Sirius crumpled into an insensible heap on the floor. "Meow," the kitten called out as it turned its attention to the boy underneath him.

Harry's emerald eyes snapped open. He rapidly blinked a couple of time as his eyes adjusted to the bright lighting. Slowly his head turned in the direction in which Sirius lay.

"Meow."

Turning his head back to the tiny black kitten, Harry raised a shaky hand and slowly petted the feline. The kitten closed its eyes and arched into Harry's hand as it started to purr gently. A small innocent smile graced Harry's face as he watched Trouble.

"Meow," the cat batted Harry's hand when the boy stopped stroking the kitten. Holding the kitten firmly against his chest, Harry struggled to sit up. 

With great care, Harry swung one leg gingerly off the bed, followed closely by the other. He wobbled slightly, as he stood on his own to feet within an arm’s length of where his Godfather rested.

Harry looked down at Sirius in confusion as the older man snored as he slept soundly on the rug.

"Meow!"

Harry looked down at the kitten cradled in his arms. Trouble purred soothingly, almost as if it was trying to reassure Harry. Harry gave a barely noticeable nod of his head, before stepping over the prone figure of his godfather and walking towards the double doors.

 

~*~

 

Harry's bare feet made hardly any sound on the cold stone floor as he padded slowly down the empty hall, his kitten nestled comfortably within his arms. Pausing suddenly, he leapt into the shadows, and hugged Trouble closer to his chest. He held his breath as he listened to the echo of approaching voices.

"I don't know why the Baron won't do anything about Peeves." A woman's voice floated down the hall. "That pest is a danger to the students. Just today, he threw tubeworms into a potion that one of my Ravenclaws had been brewing. Luckily, there was no reaction, but still, he could have hurt or even killed one of the children." 

"Oh come now, my Lady, Peeves may be an annoyance, but he isn't stupid. He would never intentionally endanger one of the children,” the Fat Friar soothed, as he and the Grey Lady floated down the hall past the place were Harry hid from them.

Harry watched with widened eyes as they disappeared down the hall and through the wall as he nuzzled his cat closer towards him. He was just about to leave his hiding spot when a bell resounded the halls. Immediately, the doors lining the hall threw up and children of all ages emptied into the corridor.

"I'll never get this charm…"

"…that test was…"

"Binns is a bore."

As suddenly as the hall was filled with students, it was once again empty. Hesitantly, Harry stepped out of his hiding spot, to only hurry back into to it when he heard the sound of pattering feet running from down the hall. A scrawny first year ran down the hall, his books clutched in his arms.

Slowly, Harry slipped from his hiding spot once more. He glanced up and down the hall nervously as he chewed on his bottom lip. "Meow." Harry looked down at the cat snuggled in his arms and smiled. The cat began to purr softly as Harry started to amble down the halls once again.

"Miss Patil! Did I not tell you to add dragonroot before adding the blood smoke?" a voice bellowed angrily from an open door.

Harry tilted his head slightly to the side as he listened to the voice. Slowly, he strode to the doorway and peeked inside.

"You did, Professor, but I had a vision," Parvati explained in a dream like voice. "I had a vision that if I add the dragonroot before the other ingredients, something wonderful would happen."

"Yes. Like rid us of your presence forever," Snape snapped irritably at the young woman. "Unfortunately for all of us, you had already failed to make the potion correctly. If you had added the dragonroot," Snape pointed up, "Filch would be scraping your remains from the ceiling. Do not make that mistake again, Miss Patil!"

Harry stood in the doorway and cautiously watched as the greasy professor lectured the girl about following directions when another voice suddenly spoke up. "Well if it's isn't the Golden Boy. Fucked any Muggles recently?"

All eyes turned first to Draco then to the Boy-Who-Lived. "See!" Parvati squealed with joy. "I told you: add the dragonroot first and something great would happen. I brought Harry back!"

The classroom was filled with noise as everyone started to talk at once; some of the students even moved towards Harry to greet him. Harry's eyes became wide at the noise of the scraping of desks and the people surging towards him. He took a few steps back until his back was pressed against the wooden door. He seemed to huddle himself around Trouble, petting the cat while peering shyly at everyone and everything.

"SIT DOWN!" Snape barked loudly.

Immediately the students fled to their seat, none wanting to evoke the wrath of their formidable menacing Potions Master.

"The whore of Gryffindor returns," Malfoy muttered loud enough so the class could hear him.

"Fifty points from Slytherin," Snape announced venomously as she stared at Malfoy with contempt.

"What!" Draco's mouth hung open in shock. "You can't do that!"

"One hundred points from Slytherin."

"But… But…" Malfoy babbled incredulously as he started wide-eyed at the head of his house.

"Would you care to make it two hundred and detention for a month?" Snape snarled at the uncrowned Slytherin prince

Draco's mouth snapped shut with an audible snap as he shock his head no. 

"I thought not," Snape drawled snidely with a smirk as he turned his attention towards Harry. "Harry," Snape beckoned in a calm, comforting tone as he edged towards the boy, "it's alright. You're safe here at Hogwarts. No one will harm you here."

Harry's eyes widened with fear as he slowly edged his way out of the room. Trouble let out a pain-filled meow as Harry clutched the cat desperately closer towards his body, his eyes fixated on the Potion Master.

"Sir!" Hermione whispered loudly. "You're frightening him."

Snape nodded his head and slowly took a couple of steps back, his eyes watching Potter the whole time. "Miss Granger," Snape called with a nod of his head at Harry, "perhaps he will respond to you."

Hermione nodded her head and rose from her seat. "Harry. It's me, Hermione," She beckoned softly as she slowly made her way over to him. "Do you remember me?"

Harry cocked his head to the side; his eyes took on a slight glassy look to them. Slowly, he began to nod his head.

Hermione face broke out into a smile. "Good. Now Harry, can you tell my why you are down here?" she asked gently as she continued to edge closer to him.

Trouble meowed softly and nudged Harry's hand with her nose. Harry looked down at the cat and smiled. His smile faded as he looked up at Hermione.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it abruptly with an audible click.

Hermione smiled and nodded her head, trying to encourage him to speak. "It's okay, Harry. No one will hurt you."

Harry cocked his head to the side and looked at Hermione. "H… Hun… Hungry." Harry quickly looked down at the floor, drawing Trouble closer to him.

"You’re hungry, Harry?" Hermione prompted in a soft, mollifying voice.

Harry looked through the thick raven locks of hair shielding his face from view at Hermione and slowly nodded his assent.

Hermione smiled at her friend. "Would you like to go to the Great Hall and get something to eat?"

Harry backed away, his body trembling with fear, as he shook his head no.

"How about the kitchens? You could see Dobby. Would you like that? To eat in the kitchen?"

Harry stilled for a moment then slowly he nodded his head.

The smile of Hermione's face grew. "Alright, lets go to the kitchen and get you something to eat. We could get Trouble some milk too. Does that sound good?"

Harry nodded his head again, a small smile appeared on his lips and he cradled the ebony colored kitten in his arms. 

Hermione turned and nodded to Professor Snape as she escorted Harry out of the classroom.

As the door shut behind the two Gryffindors, the classroom exploded with questions.

"SILENCE!" Snape roared.

Every mouth snapped shut with a snap. An evil smirk appeared on Snape's sallow face at how well his students obeyed him. "Mr. Weasley, go call the Headmaster here immediately and inform him that Potter is awake and out of his room. Longbottom, inform Madam Pomfrey and the mutt what happened. Mr. Thomas, inform Professors McGonagall and Lupin of what has happened.”

The Gryffindor boys rushed out of the room, off into the directions of their destination.

"Umm, Professor Snape?" Lavender asked raising her hand nervously. "What's going on, sir?"

"That is not for you to know, Miss Brown," the head of Slytherin snarled. "I expect the rest of you to continue with today's lesson."

The students turned back towards their potions. Their eyes drifted over to the door as they whispered hurriedly to each other.

"Eyes on you work and mouths shut!" Snape growled as he passed behind Crabbe and Goyle. "If I hear anything from anyone of you, the entire class will receive detention for two months!"

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore chided softly, stepping into the room with Ron trailing meekly behind him, "I hardly think that would be necessary."

"I assume that Mr. Weasley has told you what has occurred," Snape stated with the first traces of distress showing in his voice.

"Yes. Yes," the Headmaster answered sorrowfully. "Young Mr. Weasley informed me about everything, even about Potter's behavior. Hopefully, it's a temporary side effect of coming out of his illness."

"And what if it isn't?" Ron spoke up; his hands curled up angrily into fists. "What if that bastard damaged his mind? What if he's like that forever? I don't want to lose my best friend like that!"

"We will know something after Poppy has a chance to examine him, Ron. Remember, Harry is strong; he won't let something like this defeat him, no matter what," Dumbledore placated, patting Ron on the shoulder.

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore took a couple of steps toward his Potion Master, "why don't you escort Ron up to the Hospital Wing."

"But… I…" Snape sputtered in confusion as he pointed towards his class.

Dumbledore gently guided the younger man towards the door. "It will be no problem, Severus, I'm quite capable of dealing with a roomful of students," the old man announced with a twinkle in his eyes as he firmly shut the door.

 

~*~

 

"Sleeping" George began.

"Like," Fred continued.

"A baby," the twins cooed together as the looked down at the sleeping form of Sirius Black as he lay on his bed.

The twins turned and grinned evilly at each other, raising their wands they quickly got to work.

"Sirius," George called sweetly as he shook Sirius's shoulder. "It's time to wake up."

"No," Sirius grumbled as he rolled over, burying his face deeper into his pillow as he pulled the covers over his head. "Go away."

"Sirius, you need to wake up," The singsong voice beckoned once again but more firmly as one of the twins tugged at the covers. The only reply from Sirius was a loud snore. 

"Alright," the twins turned to leave the room. "We'll be sure to tell Harry that you just wanted to sleep."

"What? Harry?" Sirius exclaimed, throwing off the covers and tumbling out of bed. "When? How?"

"Harry woke up," Fred exclaimed with a grin

George's grin mirrored his brother’s as he finished the sentence, "While you slept."

Sirius looked at the twins in confusion. "Harry's awake?" The twins nodded their head, grinning. "Awake … awake? Talking, walking, awake?"

"Talking walking and eating awake." One of the twins said as both of them rocked back and forth on the balls of their feet. "And currently in his room with Madame Pomfrey. She's…"

Sirius didn't hear to the rest of what the twins were saying as he pushed them out of the way and bolted from his room to Harry's.

"Harry?" Sirius called out as he flung the door open.

"You!" Remus snarled, his eyes blazing with fury as he sprung out of his chair. Grabbing Sirius by the collar, Remus slammed him into wall. "How dare you come barging in after you let Harry wake up alone and just amble out of the Hospital Wing! He could have been **KILLED!** HARRY NEEDED YOU AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN BE THERE!"

"I'm sorry," Sirius mumbled looking down at the floor, "I tried to stay awake. I was about to call from someone when I fell asleep."

"I don't want to listen to your pitiful excuses any more," Remus growled angrily as he let the wolf inside of him to show. "Lily and James trusted you to watch after Harry. Hell I **trust** you and this is how you repay us."

"I… I…" 

"Now Remus, I think you're being too hard on Sirius," Dumbledore placated as he rested a hand on Lupin's shoulder.

Remus shrugged his shoulder knocking Dumbledore's hand away. "Too hard on him? Too hard on him! He let Harry wander the halls! Anything could have happen to him! And you're say I'm being too hard on him!?"

"It wasn't his fault," Madame Pomfrey asserted sternly as she stepped away from Harry's bed. 

"Not his fault?" Remus turned on Pomfrey snarling at the woman. "He fell asleep!"

"He was hexed." Pomfrey stated simply in a tone which one would use to calm an upset child.

" **WHAT**?"

"Have a seat, Sirius," Pomfrey entreated as she waved the man towards an empty chair. "I need to see if there was any lasting damage."

"But… But there was no one else in the room!" Sirius argued exasperatedly as he stumbled over to the chair. 

"But there was someone there," Pomfrey countered as she slowly moved her wand over Sirius. "Harry was in the room."

"Are you saying Harry hexed Sirius, causing him to fall asleep?" Remus asked in disbelief.

"Exactly."

"Poppy, perhaps you could explain to everyone what is going on," the Headmaster suggested.

"Very well, Albus. Harry's condition is rather complex," Pomfrey stated slowly as she brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face. "He is not fully awake yet."

"What do you mean, not awake?" Ron cried indignantly. "He was down in the dungeons walking around. Bloody hell, he was even talking to Hermione." Ron waved a hand over towards his fellow Gryffindor, who sat very still on the floor; her knees curled up towards her chest.

"He was talking to me, but it was like he was a child," Hermione whispered quietly, her eyes red from unshed tears. "He acted like he was three, or maybe four years of age. I... I think… There must have been some…"

"Brain damage," Remus finished Hermione's statement somberly as he looked down at the floor, not daring to catch anyone's eyes.

Pomfrey smiled at Hermione's comment. "Actually, Harry's behavior is a good sign. A very good sign."

"A good sign! A good sign of what?" Ron shocked he's face gradually turned red as he grew more and more impatient with the medi-witch. "That he's has brain damage? That my best friend will be a child forever?!"

"Quite the opposite, in fact," Pomfrey replied in a lecturing tone. "It mean there is no brain damage, and that he should make a full recovery in time."

Sirius shook his head as if to clear the confusion from his mind. "Let me get this straight. Harry placed a hex on me so he can wander around Hogwarts unhindered as he behaves like a four-year-old. And this is because he _doesn't_ have any brain damage and will recover fully?"

"Exactly."

Remus and Sirius shared a look of incredulity between them as Ron and Hermione stared at the woman in shock. 

"Poppy," Remus said cautiously as he stepped closer to the older woman, "I think you need to take a break. Between caring for Harry and the other students, you're overworked."

Pomfrey huffed indignantly at Remus’s insult. "I am not overworked. And if you used that head of yours for a moment, you would realize that I am right," she retorted sternly as she glared at Lupin. "I spent a number of years cramming your head full battlefield healing. You should know what's wrong with him"

Sirius ran his hands through his hair. "Poppy, pretend that none of us have a clue what you're talking about, and tell us what the bloody hell is wrong with Harry!"

"Esploratore Addormentato."

Remus jaw dropped open as she he stared at the woman in shock.

"Esploratore Addormentato?" Ron mumbled in confusion. "Sleeping scout?"

"It's a rare condition one normally finds in wizards or witches who have been severely injured on the battlefield," Remus explained slowly, his brow deeply furrow in thought.

"Or suffered from prolonged torture," Pomfrey corrected.

"But _what_ is it?" Sirius growled in frustration.

"It's a form of protection," Remus clarified as he sat down next to Sirius. "Image the brain—the mind— as an army. This army has been forced to retreat into a safe place."

"Into a coma?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded his head. "The army doesn't know if the enemy is still out there waiting to destroy it. So the army sends out a scout who appears harmless."

"That’s why he hexed me," Sirius muttered in a dejected tone. "He thought I was an enemy."

"No," Pomfrey spoke up. "Harry would have stunned anyone within a given distance when the scout was sent out. He would not be able to tell the difference between friend and foe. The only reason your were knocked out, was because you where there."

Sirius let out a sigh of relief. "So now what?"

"We wait," Pomfrey announced with a shrug of her shoulders. "As he gradually feels safer around us, the he'll become more open."

"So it wasn't Sirius's fault that Harry was wondering the halls?" Fred, or was it George, asked nervously as both red haired boys glanced over at the former Marauder nervously.

Pomfrey sighed wearily. "No, it was not Sirius's fault."

"Oh," the twins uttered meekly as they turned to Sirius. "Sorry, Sirius."

"Sorry?" Sirius repeated in confusion, "What are you sorry for?" Sirius eyes widened, as he realized what the twins were not saying. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Just a few little innocent charms." George, or was it Fred, explained as he nervously played with his wand.

"Couple curses." The other brother added with a shrug

"Simple spells."

"Nothing harmful."

"Just irritating."

"They should wear off in a couple of hours." The twins started to back towards the exit, never taking their eyes off of Harry's godfather.

"Or days."

"Or weeks." 

 

~*~

 

Draco sat in Slytherin common room, hunched over his transfiguration report. His tongue stuck out slightly as he added the finishing touches to his paper.

"DRACO!" 

"Yow!" Draco exclaimed as he bit his tongue in surprise.

"Draco, I can't remember anything since lunch on Tuesday," Pansy moaned as she plopped down limply next to Draco, leaning on his shoulder. "Do you remember anything?" she cooed, batting her eyelashes at him

Draco rolled his eyes as started to gather his work, shoving it into his bag. "Pansy, no one remember anything since Tuesday."

Pansy stuck her lips out in a pout. "It's all Longbottom's fault. Only he could mess up a simple hair coloring potion," she whined. "I can't believe Snape didn't try to have him expelled, or at least give him detention for the rest of the year."

Draco sighed resignedly. "Pansy, for the last time, Snape doesn't even know if it _was_ Longbottom, and without proof, the Griffindork bitch won't let her precious little brats get what they deserve."

"Well, we should do something about that," Pansy stated with a sniffle as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We should… Umm… We should…"

"When you figure something out, tell me," Draco drawled in a conceded tone as he started towards the boy's dorms.

Slamming the door to his private room behind him, Draco threw his school bag onto his bed. "What a fat cow," he mumbled bitterly under his breath as he pulled his school robes off. "I can believe father wishes me to marry her. She belongs in a pig sty, not in my bed."

"You know, talking to oneself is a sign of emotional problems, deary," a voice called

"Shut up!" Draco snarled angrily as he turned and glared at the mirror that was imbedded into the wall. "If I ever find the person who put that unbreakable charm on you, they will be very sorry," he growled.

"Oh I _highly_ doubt that, deary," the mirror replied snidely, "I’m sure that they would be very happy that I've lasted this long."

"Whatever," Draco snarled as he fell back onto his bed, "Just shut up so I can get some work done without being disturbed."

Pulling his books out of his bag, Draco started to flip through his Potions notes, when he suddenly stopped and stared in confusion at a note he found at the bottom of the page.

**Potter is here.**

 

~*~

 

Esploratore Addormentato (Italian) - Sleeping Scout


	14. Chapter 14

The great black cat stayed in the shadows as it stalked its quarry. Only the tip of its tail betrayed its intent, as it twitched ever so slightly back and forth. The piercing green eyes of the cat narrowed; its legs packed with deadly power as the great predator anticipated its chance to pounce on the unsuspecting prey.

Then, like a bolt of lightening from a cloudless sky, the feline sprung into action. Its feet barely touched the ground as it raced towards its victim. Each boundless stride of the cat's legs engulfed the distance between predator and prey. Its razor-sharp claws slid out as the cat prepared to sink them into its kill.

As the cat was about strike, the prey suddenly swished into the air out of the cat's reach. The great cat frantically scrambled to dig its claws deeper into the ground as it tried to stop its charge, but the grey granite floor beneath its paws was too slick. Its eyes grew wide as a steadfast green wall appeared in its path.

**THUD!**

Sirius looked over the edge of the green couch he was laying on with the book he was reading resting evenly in his hands. 

"Silly cat," he admonished playfully with an amused chuckle as his godson's kitten, Trouble, tried to regain the haughty attitude all cats share. 

"Meow," the cat countered frowningly in a tone that tired to place blame for what happened on Sirius. 

"Don't blame me," Sirius commented with a smirk on his face. "You fell for it." 

"Meow!" Trouble cried as he turned his arched back on Sirius and hoisted his tail up as straight as a rod, giving Sirius a clear view of his rear end.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that James was reborn," Sirius mumbled with a shake of his head as he observed Trouble race back to play with his godson. 

Sirius sat in contemplative silence as he watched Harry drag a thin strip of leather along the floor, while the kitten ran and pounced at it numerous times. The kitten's antics caused Harry to smile and laugh.

"And you thought Trouble was a bad idea," Remus teased jokingly as he leaned over the back of the couch, watching as Trouble jumped for the leather strip that Harry dangled just out of the kitten's reach.

Sirius snorted, "I still wish Ginny had gotten him a puppy," he countered as he crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

"But you're Harry's puppy," Remus cooed in a sickening sweet voice, ruffling Sirius' hair into a rook’s nest that rivaled his godson’s. Sirius growled in annoyance as he swatted his childhood friend’s hand away. 

"Don't you have someplace to be?" he spat out in a gruff voice. 

"Not for another ten minutes," Remus replied calmly, stuffing his hands into his robe pockets with a shrug of his shoulders. "I volunteered to help Madam Promfey restock her potions."

"Why isn't Snape going to do it?" Sirius asked, an eyebrow raised at the concept of someone else making potions for the school.

"With all the extracurricular activity he's been recently performing, he doesn’t have the time for any simple, yet time consuming potions, so it's fallen to Promfey and me." Remus explained. "So, what are you and Harry planning to do today?"

"Nothing special, although the Headmaster suggested that I might want to take Harry down to the kitchens," Sirius replied nonchalantly. "It seems that Harry has a friend among the house elves." 

"Just like Lily," Remus mused with a wistful smile on his face, "Remember Mab?"

"How could I forget her? Damned house elf kept short sheeting my bed whenever Lily was mad at James or me!" Sirius exclaimed with a snort.

Remus chuckled. "Remember the time all of James's whites came back a bright pink?"

"Yeah," Sirius reflected fondly. "If I remember right, that was the time James turned her hair green and gave her a set of rabbit ears. I was positive that Lily was going to kill us for that. Of course, I was an innocent party in that prank."

"Of course you were." Sarcasm was evident in Remus's drawling voice.

"I was!" exclaimed Sirius in outrage as he tired to defend his honour. "So who is this house elf, and how did Harry meet him?" 

"If I remember right, his name is Dobby, and he used to be a servant to the Malfoy's," Remus explained thoughtfully.

"Silver-tongued Malfoy?" 

"The same," Remus affirmed with a nod of his head. "From what I was able to learn, Harry somehow tricked Lucius into freeing his house elf with a sock."

"A sock?" Sirius gasped in bewilderment as he peered up at Remus, who simply nodded his head once more. "I'm impressed. Do me a favour and remind me to get Harry to tell me about that when he gets better." 

"Just make sure I'm there when he tells you. I've been dying to learn how he did it."

Each man soon was lost in his own private thoughts as Harry and his kitten played on the floor.

"It's a miracle he’s turned out like he did. After all he's gone through… Then this had to happen," Sirius mumbled to himself sadly.

Reaching down, Remus gave Sirius's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "He'll be fine, Sirius. Harry is made of stronger stuff than anyone ever counted on."

"I know, I know," Sirius muttered as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I just wish… I would love the chance to deal with those bastards. To make them pay for what they’ve done."

"I know, Sirius," Remus replied. "I would love the chance, too. But I have a strange feeling that the Fates will punish them far worse than we ever could."

 

~*~

 

"Did you know that it was James's idea to create the map?" Sirius’s voice echoed down the winding stone stairs. "He came up with the idea during our first year, after we got caught by Filch and had to suffer a detention polishing trophies. My arm ached for a week after that.

"Anyway, it took us practically the rest of the term of to find the spells and charms we thought we would need. Remus will tell you that it was James’ and my fault that it took so long. _He'll_ claim that we were the ones who would get distracted by some unusual spell or charm, but it really was him. He just won't admit it.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so after we had found what we needed, we started to explore Hogwarts," Sirius babbled as he held Harry's hand and coached the boy down the stairs. "It took us three years of exploring every nook and cranny that we could find to create the map."

"And you know what the funny thing is? By the end of it, we really didn't have a need for the map, because by that time we knew the school almost as well as Dumbledore," Sirius explained as they reached the bottom of the stairs and faced a solid brick wall.

"Stand here for a moment, Harry," Sirius instructed as he eyed the wall warily. 

"Let's see… Dumbledore said that I had to push on the fossil of the sea," Sirius mumbled as he searched the wall for it. "Ah, here it is!"

A door-shaped opening appeared in the wall after Sirius pressed the fossil of what looked like a slightly cracked snail embedded into the wall that conveniently was the size of a man's fist.

"I need to revise the map," Sirius mumbled to himself, "there's more secret passages and rooms then we thought."

Turning his attention back to Harry, Sirius knelt down so that he was looking into his godson's eyes. "If this gets to be too much for you, Harry, I want you to squeeze my hand and we'll leave. Do you understand, Harry?"

Harry smiled at his godfather; he reached out and patted Sirius on the head.

"Yes, Harry, I'm your puppy." Straightening up, Sirius took Harry's hand. "Ok, here we go," Sirius announced as they strolled into the kitchen.

They had only taken a couple steps into the vast room before they were surrounded by house elves; all of them dressed in clean, pillowcases bearing the Hogwarts crest.

"Doe Sirs need something?" one of the house elves asked.

"Sirs, need food?'

"Drinks perhaps, sirs?"

"Nanna clean wizard’s mess, sirs?"

"Umm… Well… I…. Could you…" Sirius stuttered nervously as the house elves looked up at him expectantly. "Could you get us something to eat?"

"Yes sirs," one of the house elves chimed in grateful eagerness as they hurried back to work.

Sirius let out a sigh of relief as the house elves left them in peace. "Can't stand crowds," Sirius explained, more for his own benefit than for Harry's

Taking a deep breath, Sirius called out. "Ummm... excuse me?"

"Yes, sirs?" all the house elves turned their attention once again to the wizards who were intruding on their territory.

"I was also looking for a house elf named Dobby," Sirius announced as he looked around at the collection of house elves. "Is he here?"

"Dobby is in Gryffindor tower, but Cindy can call him if sirs want Dobby to come the kitchen," a tiny female house elf with blond hair offered with a meek curtsey.

"Is your name Cindy?" Sirius asked as he smiled at the young house elf who had spoken.

"Yes, sir," she replied timidly.

"Well then, Cindy, I would be very honoured if you would ask Dobby to come down here."

A blush appeared on Cindy's pale cheeks at Sirius' respectful tone. "Cindy brings Dobby back right away." And with that the little house elf vanished with a loud crack.

Sirius knelt down so he was level with his godson.

"Rule one," Sirius whispered, "always be respectful to a House Elf. It's never a good idea to piss one off. You see, House Elves have their own form of right and wrong. And to upset one is to call forth their wrath. Most of the time, you'll suffer with salty food, starch in your underwear, but sometime they can do much, much more. And when that happens, you never want to be on the receiving end of it."

**CRACK!**

**CRACK!**

Suddenly Cindy reappeared, but this time Dobby appeared by her side. With a small wave to Sirius, Cindy ran off to complete her duties.

"Mister Harry Potter, sir," Dobby squeaked, looking up at the young wizard with admiration and affection as he made his way over to him. "Dobby was happy when Dobby heard that Mister Harry Potter sir, woke up from his long nap. Dobby was happy to hear sirs was asking for Dobby."

Harry gazed down at the small house elf with an unreadable expression upon his innocent face. Dropping to his knees, Harry pulled Dobby towards him and hugged Dobby like a small child reunited with a lost stuffed animal or favourite friend.

"Mister Harry Potter, sir?" Dobby's voice was a mix of concern and joy over being hugged by such an important person as the savoir of the wizard world.

"Harry's still very sick," Sirius explained as he looked down at his godson. "Poppy says he'll act like a child until… well, until he feels safe once again." 

"Mister Harry Potter, sir, still sick?" Dobby asked as he looked up at Sirius while rubbing Harry's back in a comforting manner.

"Yes," Sirius replied as he sadly nodded his head. "He's still very sick, but he will get better. He just needs time."

"Mister Harry Potter sir needs to feel safe to get better?" Dobby asked. "But Mister Harry Potter sir is safe at Hogwarts."

"He is and he isn't," Sirius said. "He's safe from the Dursley's here, but has there been a year that Harry hasn't been in danger?"

"Sirius Black tells Dobby why Mister Harry Potter sir is sick. Tell Dobby how Dobby can help Mister Harry Potter sir get feel safe. How Dobby can help Mister Harry Potter, sir, get well."

"Just do what you're doing right now; and be a friend. As for what made Harry sick…"

 

~*~

 

"I can't believe you didn't do what I asked," Marge Dursley said through clenched teeth as she slammed the roast onto the table. "All I asked was for you to feed and water the dogs. It would have taken ten minutes of your time and you didn't do it."

Dudley kept his head down as he rolled his eyes at his aunt as she continued to lecture him.

"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Marge demanded her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at him.

Using the skill he had mastered while he lived with his parents, Dudley raised his head; his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Aunt Marge," he said as his bottom lip trembled in sync with his wobbling quintuple chins. "I didn't mean to forget. I'm so sorry."

Seeing Dudley's sorrowful eyes, Marge's shoulders slumped as her anger disappeared.

"Well it wasn't really your fault. I should have reminded you," Marge said as she sat down at the table and began to carve the roast. "Undoubtedly, your absent mind is a result of your mother's weak blood."

Marge snorted. "I told Vernon not to marry that harlot but did he listen to me? And see what happens. That woman corrupted a good man. Causes him to lose his job and his money. She was the reason your father was forced to abandon you with me."

Dudley looked up from his plate as he shoved food into his mouth, his eyes showing how grateful he was. "I'm sure Harry had something to do with it," he said as some of the food in his mouth fell out.

"Yes, that Potter boy," Marge said with an evil glint in her eyes. "I told Vernon not to take in that riffraff. I warned him that freak would be problem. He’s probably helping that wretched women spend your father's hard-earned money. That boy should have been whipped to within an inch of his life."

**CRACK!**

Standing in the middle of the kitchen was a creature with huge, green eyes and bat-like ears dressed in a pair of children's shorts and wearing one pink and mustard-yellow poka-dotted sock and one lime-green and blue stripped sock. It was also wearing a tie that looked like a fish and what appeared to be a tea cozy on its head.

Ripper growled at the creature, but his tail was between his legs and his ears flatten against his head.

"By all that is holy!" Marge exclaimed as she stared wide-eyed at the creature.

" **KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT, AUNT MARGE!** " Dudley screamed hysterically as he clamped one hand firmly to his bottom and pointed at the creature with his other hand as he backed into a corner. His eyes wide with fear as he stood up from the table and tried to back away from it.

"Ripper! **KILL!** " Marge commanded fiercely the dog as she snapped out of her daze.

Instantly, the pet bull dog leapt forward at his Mistress's orders. Ripper charged at the intruder, his jowls flapping in the air and his fangs glistening with frothing salvia that dripped from his mouth.

Just as Ripper was about to rip into this strange creature, the bulldog was suddenly suspended in the air with a yelp.

" **Ripper!** " Marge screamed as she watched her dog floating in the air, whimpering in fear. "You put him down, **NOW!** " she snarled angrily as she turned back to the creature standing in her kitchen.

"You has bad dog try to hurt Dobby. You not nice lady," the creature said as it narrowed it's huge green eyes until they were slits.

"What do you want?" she whispered, her eyes wide as she realized that she was in the presence of a dangerous being that she could not intimidate.

"Dobby learned from paper of Headmaster's desk that Harry Potter's cousin, Dudley Dursley was here. Dobby knows what Dudley Dursley did to Dobby's friend, Harry Potter," the creature exclaimed menacingly.

"It wasn't my fault!" Dudley suddenly pleaded as he pressed his back against the wall. "Daddy made me do it. Honest! He forced me to!"

"What did you do?" Marge asked as she turned to her nephew.

"Just what you suggested,” Dudley replied meekly with as much innocence as he could muster into his frightened voice.

"What _I_ suggested?" Marge squeaked in outrage and confusion.

"How we should beat Harry," Dudley declared, edging his way to the door as he kept one eye on the creature that called itself Dobby. "You told Daddy we should have killed him when he was a baby."

"You wanted Harry Potter harmed?" Dobby gasped. "You wanted Harry Potter dead?"

"No, no," Marge sputtered furiously in denial. “I never wanted any such fate to befall such a…decent boy.”

"She did," Dudley volunteered, motioning emphatically at his corpulent aunt. "She would often let Ripper chase Harry. She wanted him to hurt Harry."

"It wasn't like that!" Marge exclaimed.

"Dobby know truth," Dobby countered venomously as he nodded his head. "Dobby can smell lies. Dobby knows _exactly_ what Dobby should do."

 

~*~

 

A pair of hazel eyes narrowed as a police car turned onto the drive of a stone manor with a rolling garden.

The police car slowly rolled to a stop in front of the house. As the officers set foot outside their vehicle, the howls of dogs filled the crisp air. The officers reached for their batons as they looked around for the animals

"They're penned in the back, constable," the older gentleman said as he approached the police officers.

The younger officer who's nametag read Mather raised an eyebrow at the use of the old term for a police officer.

"I'm Officer Lestrade, my partner Officer Mather," the older officer stated with a calm nod towards the younger man. "Were you the one who placed the call?"

"Yes, Colonel Fubster of Her Majesty’s Army, retired," the older man affirmed briskly with pride.

"Sir," Officer Lestrade began with respect, "could you explain the situation?"

"This is the residence of one, Marjorie Dursley. Spinster. Never married," Colonel Fubster explained see the younger officer's confusion at the old term. "Currently one Dudley Dursley, Miss Dursley's nephew, is residing here. I had last spoken to Miss Dursley on Friday the eighth at seventeen hundred hours. At that time, she had told me that her nephew and she were leaving for the week, and that I was to take care of her animals."

"Told you?"

"Miss Dursley has a high opinion of herself and is quite willing to order people around like they are servants. However, I will admit she is well skilled in the breeding and handling of bull dogs."

"But you were willing to… to okay her orders, sir?" Officer Mather asked, curious about why a former Colonel of Her Majesty’s Army listened to the orders of a civilian.

"I am a gentleman, sir. The military was able to drum into me that one should always help those in need. And while I have a low opinion of Miss Dursley and her nephew, I have told you that I have a high opinion of her animals."

"Good dogs?"

"I would dare say some of the best dogs in all of Britain outside of Her Majesty's kennel." 

"I see," Officer Lestrade said as he made a note of this in his book. "And why did you call for us, Colonel?"

"I arrived at the house at eight hundred hours to feed and care for the seventeen animals she houses in a kennel behind the house. As I was proceeding around the house, I discovered Miss Dursley's automobile still in the garage. Upon further investigation I discovered that none of the animals had been fed or watered, and that the back door was open."

"Did you enter the residence, sir?"

"No, I did not."

The officers continued to collect information from Colonel Fubster before deciding to enter the house and learn what fate had befallen Miss Dursley and her nephew.

"Miss Dursley? This is the police," Officer Lestrade called out as he opened the door.

Officer Lestrade's voice echoed around the house.

"No one home," Officer Mather stated nervously as he looked around.

"Doesn't seem like it," Lestrade stated, his eyes narrowed slightly. "But someone was here recently."

"How can you tell?" Mather asked as he looked around in confusion.

"Sausage. Someone has cooked sausage recently."

"Figures. I missed breakfast this morning."

"Your new wife’s fault of course," Lestrade teased before becoming serious once again. "Lets get this over with."

Slowly, the officers made their way through the house, searching for Miss Dursley or her nephew. Finally, they opened the door that led to the kitchen.

"Father protect us," Lestrade whispered as he made the sign of the cross.

After a quick glance inside the room, Mather covered his mouth and ran for the front door.

"What's wrong, constable?" Col. Fubster asked as Mather leaned over the bushes by the front door and threw up.

"They're dead," Mather gasped as his body was racked with dry heaves. "Dear mother of God. They're dead."

 

~*~

 

**THE TIMES**  
December 12, 1995

**Obituary**

Jonathan Carnahan pasted away on the tenth of December 1995 at the age of 101. Jonathan Carnahan was a well renowned Egyptologist, scholar and professor at Oxford. He is survived by his family. Jonathan Carnahan's remains will be shipped to Egypt for burial.

 

Marjorie Dursley was found dead in her home on the eleventh of December, 1995, aged 44. Marge Dursley, a respected breeder of bulldogs will be lovingly remembered by all her family and friends. Funeral service at St. Egwin on December 13, 1995 at 6 p.m. All inquires to Thames Funeral Home.

 

Dudley Dursley, son of Vernon and Petunia Dursley was found dead at the home of his aunt on the eleventh of December, 1995, aged 15. Dudley Dursley will be lovingly remembered by all his family and friends. Funeral service at St. Egwin on December 13, 1995 at 6 p.m. All inquires to Thames Funeral Home. 

 

~*~

 

**THE SOL NEWS**   
_The only news fit to read _  
December 13, 1995__

__

__**Bizarre But True News** _ _

__

__**Frog's a triple jumper**  
SEE a picture of the amazing frog that has 3 heads, 6 eyes and 6 legs_ _

__

__**Council rocked by leak**  
A COUNCIL leader broadcasted his toilet break to a stunned meeting_ _

__

__**Bicycle stabbing nut caged**  
CYCLIST who knifed driver 3 weeks after shooting him jailed for 9½ yrs_ _

__

__**Butcher of Morcombe** _ _

__Police made a grisly discover in the peaceful neighbourhood of Morcombe._ _

__Summoned to the house of Marge Dursley by a concerned neighbour, police entered the house to find the bodies of Marge Dursley and her nephew, Dudley Dursley, sitting at the table._ _

__"At first we thought they were just sitting at the table eating breakfast. That was until we notice the dog that was at the woman's feet. It looked like someone had tired to make it into a sausage," said an unknown police officer._ _

__Upon further investigation it was discovered that the victims had been treated in a similar fashion._ _

__The murderer, or murderers had expertly skinned both victims and removed the flesh from their bones. After that, the butcher ground the flesh and stuffed it back into the skins, making a human sausage._ _

__The bones where found in a large pot on the stove, as if the killer was making broth from them._ _


	15. Chapter 15

The headmaster leaned back in his chair; his feet snuggled deeply within a pair of thick woolen stockings were propped up languidly on his desk as he hummed merrily to himself while knitting what appears like a sock.

"Pop goes the weasel," he suddenly sung out cheerfully.

Fawkes gruffly ruffled his feathers at the sudden interruption of tranquility in the room. The phoenix let out a sour note to express his displeasure over being disturbed.

"Come now Fawkes, my singing isn’t that bad," Dumbledore mollified, beaming with a twinkle in his eyes.

Fawkes fluttered his feathers once again in annoyance before turning on his perch so that his back was facing the headmaster of Hogwarts. With a slight spreading of his wings, Fawkes lifted his fiery tail into the air exposing his hind end towards the reclining wizard.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Fawkes wordless statement. "Well, _I_ didn't think my singing was that bad," he countered sulkily with a pout.

With a shrug, the headmaster turned his attention to the open window, which kept the winter cold from entering the room through the use of magic.

"He's late," Dumbledore announced softly, his voice betraying his concern.

Fawkes turned and gazed evenly out of the opening.

"I hope nothing is wrong," Dumbledore muttered to himself. The phoenix glanced sympathetically at the weary man, letting out a trill of reassurance.

"Yes, yes. He was probably delayed. He'll be here with in moments," Albus stated before picking up his knitting and starting to work once again.

The headmaster had just completed two more rows and was half way through the next, when a Peregrine Falcon soared swiftly through the window and landed gracefully on the desk.

"Good evening, Mercury," Albus greeted as he settled his knitting on the desk, dropping his feet quickly to the floor with a thump. "We were getting concerned when you didn't show at your normal time."

A rasping _kack-kack-kack-kack_ was Mercury only reply as he nodded his head towards a package at his feet.

"Something special from Evelyn?"

The falcon let out another kack-kack to confirm the headmaster's statement.

Fawkes hopped onto the large desk to sneak a glimpse at the special object in the package.

" _Cresceu_ ," Dumbledore mumbled as he tapped the box twice with his index finger, causing the package to instantly quadruple in size.

Dumbledore removed the lid, ignoring Fawkes and Mercury as they jostled about to determine which would be the first to gaze into the box.

Dumbledore carefully extracted a light pink envelope from the box. Placing his gold-rimmed half moon spectacles onto his long, crooked nose, Dumbledore open the letter and began to read aloud.

_My dearest Albus,_

_I hope my letter finds you in good health. Aside from my few aches and pains, I am well. Unfortunately, my joints are giving me problems again—perhaps that young nurse of yours could prescribe me something for it._

_I've just returned from the Americas; quiet a queer group over there, you know. They insist in calling a jumper a sweater. And you won't want to know what they think a spotted dick is. You'll have to wait till the New Year for me to tell you more about my adventures there._

_While traveling, I've found a new sweet for that insatiable sweet tooth of yours. The America Muggles call it a s'mores. It's fairly simple to make and I've included the ingredients in this shipment._

Dumbledore looks in the box and pulls out a bag of marshmallows, a box labeled “graham crackers,” and a bar of Muggle chocolate.

_First, you need to roast a marshmallow and place it on a graham cracker. After that you place a piece of chocolate on top. It must be Muggle chocolate—for some strange reason, Wizard chocolate refuses to melt when placed on a warm marshmallow. After you add the chocolate, top with another graham cracker and eat. They're delicious but I think I had more fun making them than eating them._

_When I visit you, remind me to introduce you and your students to mountain pies._

_I know you've heard me preach about this before, but you're going to have to suffer through it again. Why do you insist on reading those dreadful Muggle newspapers? I know you will insist that it's the easiest way to judge how much of our world is crossing over to the Muggle world but really Albus, 'Dog is my Child Father.' Who in their right mind dreams up these fanciful tales?_

_Anyway Albus, it's the Ministry job to watch for these problems, not yours._

_I need to go, Albus; Mercury is getting impatient. I think he has a lady friend at the school._

_I will see you soon._

_Your loving, more beautiful, and intelligent cousin,_

_Evelyn_

Setting the letter aside Albus opens the bag of marshmallows. "Would you like one, Mercury? Fawkes?" he offered.

Fawkes eagerly bobbed his head in assent, while Mercury merely ruffled his wings and shuffled impatiently from foot to foot.

"Ah, you're impatient to see your _lady friend_ ," Dumbledore mused knowingly. "Off you go, then."

Mercury quickly took to wings and flew into the dark of night.

Using the blazing fire, Albus soon had two s'mores ready for their enjoyment, one golden brown marshmallow for himself and one blackened for Fawkes.

Fawkes quickly attacked his as Dumbledore nibbled at his own treat. Slowly, he removed the newspapers his cousin had sent him and returned to his desk to read.

"Nessie has been sighted again," Dumbledore commented to his office as he scanned the headlines. "Poor girl won't have any peace this summer."

Fawkes let out an indignant squawk before continuing to eat his treat.

"Come now, Fawkes. I seriously doubt that she does it on purpose," Dumbledore replied with amusement. "After all, last time this happened, the poor kelpie felt horribly stressed as she tried to evade all those Muggles tourists seeking her out."

Fawkes let out a sound that sounded like a snort.

"Well, I understand how you feel, but I expect you to behave yourself when we visit her. She'll need some more spells if she is to avoid those so called ‘monster hunters,’" Dumbledore announced as he turned back to the paper.

For the longest time, only the rustle of paper and the crackle of the fire could be heard in the office.

"If only I were fifty years younger," Albus muttered to himself wistfully, breaking the silence of the room s he stared at the page-three girl.

Dumbledore smiled to himself as his eyes roamed over the full busted brunet Muggle woman. "I'll have to save this for later," he muttered as he set page three aside. "Perhaps Filius knows of a charm..."

As the headmaster continued to search through the paper, he would occasionally chuckle to himself or jot down a quick note.

"Severus will be pleased. The moon blossoms are blooming on Island of Tesco." Dumbledore mentioned to Fawkes, its head was engulfed inflames as the it tried to roast a marshmallow in its beak.

The Headmaster blinked at the strange sight before him. "Well, that's one way to do it. As I was saying, Severus will be please. He's been complaining for months about the pitiable quality of dried moon blossoms he's been receiving from his suppliers. Now he'll be able to harvest his own."

Turning the page Dumbledore suddenly called out, "Here's your favorite, Fawkes; Bizarre But True News."

The phoenix let out a marshmallow-muffled squeak before taking to wing and landing on the back of Dumbledore's chair; leaning over the headmaster's shoulder to read the paper.

"A three-headed frog? Hagrid would certainly like to see that," Dumbledore mumbled to himself. "Now what's this?" Dumbledore read the headline farther down the page. "Oh dear... what a…horrible event: Butcher of Morcombe." 

Fawkes let out a squawk of agreement and ruffled his feathers in offense.

"My, my, my…such a _terrible_ thing, it is to think that muggles could be capable of such atrocity," Dumbledore reflected as he carefully snipped the article from the paper with a flick of his wand. "Hopefully, the house elves won't be serving sausage any time soon—I don't think I could stomach them after this."

Fawkes threw back its head, letting out a trill of laughter.

Dumbledore glowered slightly at his friend’s teasing. "Don't blame _me_ if I’m gifted with an over-active imagination." He paused slightly as if lost in thought, drumming his finger against his polished desk before his gaze flickered towards his phoenix companion with a slightly sardonic smile gracing his lips. "Fawkes, _do_ remind me to raise Dobby's pay and to congratulation him on a job well done."

 

~*~

 

"Yes, Harry?" Molly asked, looking up from her knitting as she felt Harry tugging on her robes.

Harry held out a sheet of parchment for her, child's innocent grin spread on his pale face.

"Is this for me, dear?" Molly inquired bemusedly as she took the page from the boy’s anxious hands.

Harry nodded his head eagerly as he curled up on the couch next to Mrs. Weasley.

"It's beautiful, Harry," Molly exclaimed as she looked down at the crayon drawing of stick figures, nine of which had bright ginger-red hair and one with long, bushy brown hair. "is this of my family and Hermione?"

Harry nodded his heads.

"Oh, this must be Ron, then," Molly announced, beaming as she pointed to the stick figure standing the closest to the brown haired stick figure. "And here's Ginny, and Fred, and George. Oh, you even drew in Bill's earring—I really wish that boy would let me cut his hair." Molly mused absentmindedly.

Harry giggled softly at Molly's statement.

"Shall we hang this masterpiece with others, then?" Molly suggested as she nodded her head towards a section of wall covered with crayon drawings and finger paintings that Harry had created over the past few days.

Harry jumped from his seat and grabbed Molly's arm, energetically pulling her towards the wall.

Molly chuckled. "I take that as a yes, dear," she declared as she allowed Harry to drag her along.

"So, where do you want to hang it?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she gazed at the collection of drawings. "Do you want to place it here?" Molly pointed to an empty section of wall next to finger paint drawing of the Burrow.

Harry shook his head firmly and pointed to a spot next to a drawing of a black blob, which seemed to be Harry's interpretation of Padfoot.

"That’s a perfect spot, Harry," Molly agreed as she fixed the parchment to the wall with a flick of her wand. "You're becoming quiet the artist. Who are you going to do next?"

Harry brow furrowed in thought as he looked at his pictures.

"I don't see the Headmaster or Professor McGonagall or any of the other teachers. How about if you do them next?" Molly suggested.

With a quick nod of his head, Harry raced back to his table and started to grab his pencils and parchment to begin his new project.

"I wonder who he will draw this time," Molly mused quietly to herself as she settled back down on the couch and picked up her knitting.

 

~*~

 

In the very same room, the great predator known only as Trouble stalked its prey hidden from human sight amongst the herds of dust bunnies.

Slowly, the kitten crept closer and closer to the mated pair of pink, long-eared bunny slippers that were lounging amidst the dark, dust covered landscape.

Just as Trouble was about to pounce, the young cat stopped dead in its tracks. His pink nose quivered slightly in suppressed excitement as the young cat picked upon a new scent in the room.

Abandoning his prey for another time, Trouble began to hunt for his new playmate.

 

~*~

 

"From what it sounds like, it possible that you buried the seed too deep and that’s why it never grew," Neville explained as he opened the door and held it open for Ginny.

"But I didn't add _that_ much soil on top," Ginny protested as she entered the room.

"I won't be too concerned Ginny," Neville assured, "It’s a common mistake. Especially with Trillium erectum."

"Ugh! I don't have a green thumb, I have a black one," Ginny blew a strand of hair from her face in frustration. “Everything I touch, I kill. I either over water it, or under water it; put too much dirt or not enough,” she barked loudly, her arms flying everywhere in frustration. “Is there a plant out there that I CAN’T kill? Tell me Neville, IS THERE?!”

“Well…” Neville said hastily as he looked at every place but at Ginny.

“Right then, there's nothing out there. I’m Death for plants,” Ginny proclaimed while faking a pout.

Neville rolled his eyes in exasperation, before turning to the door. “Mrs. Weasley? Harry?” Neville called out. “It’s our turn to stay with Harry.”

Receiving no answer, Neville turned to Ginny. “You think they’re down at the kitchen?”

“Probably, I know that Harry is comfortable around the House Elves, especially Dobby,” Ginny explained as she walked to the back of the couch. “Mum probably took…. Mum!"

Neville hurried to Ginny’s side and looked over the couch. Laying face down on the floor was Mrs. Weasley’s still form.

Ginny vaulted over the couch as was instantly at her mother's side while Neville scrambled to stumble around it. Carefully, they rolled the older lady over onto her back.

"Mum. Please wake up, mum," Ginny called desperately, frantically shaking her mother’s shoulders.

"Harry!" Molly gasped softly, her eyes fluttering open briefly before closing once again.

"Looks like she’s been stunned or something," Neville stated anxiously, looking about to any sign of trespassers as he pulled out his wand. " _Ennervate_ ," he whispered, casting the counterspell on Mrs. Weasley.

Molly groaned softly but remained unconscious.

Neville looked at his wand as if it betrayed him. "Ok, so it's not _stupefy_ —it has to be something else."

"But what?" Ginny asked as she brush a strain of hair out of her mother's face.

"A better question would be who," Neville said as he stood up.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, looking up at Neville with her bottom lip trembling.

Neville grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the couch as he tried to make Mrs. Weasley more comfortable. "It's possible. Remember, he did do it to Mr. Black," he recalled as he tucked Molly into the blankets. 

"He made Sirius fall asleep, he didn't stun him," Ginny countered as she held his mother's hand. "Anyway, why would he stun my mum? Do you think she did something? Maybe he had a relapse!"

"I don't know Ginny, but it's certainly possible," Neville agreed. "But what I do know is that we need to find Harry as soon as we can, and we need to get help."

"You're right," Ginny sighed as she laid her mother's hand down. "I'll start looking for Harry. For all we know, he's hiding under his bed, terrified."

"Ginny..." Neville said his eyes betraying his concern.

"Don't worry about me, Neville. Harry trusts me," Ginny asserted. "And I need you to use the floo to contact someone."

"And what if he stuns you, Ginny? He trusted your mum, what's to say he won't stun you?" Neville pointed out. "You're going to need me to help."

"He won't. I know he won't, Neville," Ginny assured as she started to search the room. "Anyway, if you were searching too and he stunned both of us, then no one will know that we need help."

Neville sighed warily, "All right, but as soon as I contact someone, I'm coming back to help you," he stated firmly as he grabbed the clay garden pot that held the floo power.

"Neville..." Ginny called out.

Neville turned and looked at Ginny. In her hands was Trouble, Harry's cat, covered with blood, lying limply in Ginny's arms. The cat was badly injured with long gashes on its body. With a painful meow, the kitten let the two students know that he was still alive

"I think we may have bigger problems."

 

~*~

 

"Minister Fudge," a glowing ball on Fudge's desk called out.

Fudge reached over to the ball and laid a finger on it. "I thought I told you, Miss Dwain, that I was not to be disturbed!" Fudge snarled.

"Yes sir.” Miss Dwain began through the glowing globe. “I know, sir, but..." 

"But what!" the Minister snapped angrily.

"It's Mr. Malfoy sir," Dwain squeaked. "He's here to see you."

Fudge sighed warily as he rubbed his face. "Very well, send him in."

The massive, magically warded doors swung open. "Go right in, sir," Miss Dwain, the Minster's secretary beckoned as she waved Lucius Malfoy into the office.

Malfoy strolled nonchalantly across the wood paneled room, the thick carpet absorbing any sound from his footsteps or his cane. 

"Cornelius, my dear friend..." Lucius speech trailed off as he noticed how pale and sickly Fudge looked. "Cornelius, are you alright? What ills you?"

With his hand, Fudge waved away Malfoy's concern. "It's nothing, Lucius. I'm fine," he replied as he picked up a bloodied handkerchief and wiped away the trickle blood flowing from his nose.

With the grace only a Malfoy seemed to possess, Lucius sat down across the desk from the Minster of Magic. "As a friend, Cornelius, I must be frank with you; you appear to be seriously ill," Malfoy said as he took in Fudge's pasty complexion, his general listlessness, and his sunken eyes which were ringed with dark bags, making it appear as if he had two black eyes. "Have you spoken with a healer?"

"Yes. Yes, of course," Fudge replied stuffily as he tried to hide his annoyances over Malfoy's question. "A winter's cold. Drink plenty of fluids and pepper up potion as need and rest." Fudge snort as he threw the handkerchief onto his desk. "I am the Minster of Magic for the British Isles—when do I have a chance to rest?"

Fudge sighed wearily as he ran his hand though his thinning hair. "I'm sorry, Lucius. I've been bemoaning you about my woes and I haven't offered any refreshments. Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"Tea would be fine, thank you," Malfoy asserted as he brushed some imagery lint from the cuff of his robes. "And as for telling me about your problems, what are friends for but to offer an ear when one is in need? I did ask you about your health."

Fudge smiles kindly, "Thank you, Lucius. You have always been there for me when I need help." The minister laid a finger on the snow-white globe on his desk, which immediately it began to glow. "Miss Dwain? Tea for two." He quickly ended the call before his secretary could reply.

Malfoy's brow arched slightly in surprise. "I take it that you care very little for Miss Dwain?" he observed with a nod towards the globe.

Fudge snort in disdain. "She is efficient."

Malfoy raised an elegant eyebrow at Fudge's statement; his lip part to inquire more but at that moment Miss Dwain walked in. She was carrying an ornate silver tray laden with a porcelain tea set and biscuits on a silver plate. Carefully setting the tray down on the Minister's desk, she began to pour the tea for the two gentlemen. "Mr. Malfoy, how would you like your tea?" she asked.

"Two lumps of sugar and a squeeze of lemon," he ordered in a bored tone and he quickly studied the young woman.

With quiet efficiency, she soon presented Mr. Malfoy with his tea and the Minster with his own drink containing three lumps of sugar and a generous plop of cream.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" she asked as she straightened up the tea set.

"Leave the tea," Fudge directed, his voice slightly less hoarse after taking a sip of the scalding liquid.

With a nod of her head, Miss Dwain left the office; Malfoy turned lightly in his seat so he could watched her retreating form.

Once the office door was firmly shut, he returned his attention to the Minister. "She seems quiet lovely," taking a sip of his tea as he uncrossed his legs.

"Yes she is," Fudge affirmed with a snort, his eyes narrowing, taking a gulp from his teacup. "When I hired her from the secretary pool, I had expected her to be _grateful_ for the opportunity I was offering her."

"And I take it she was less than _grateful_?" Lucius replied in an understanding tone, raising his eyebrow to show his understanding of Fudge's unstated message.

Fudge snorted in reply as he stared darkly at the door that separated him from the woman of whom they spoke. "I had thought that her parents would have taught her better. But I should have known better."

"She's not a pureblood then?" Malfoy inquired, his voice betraying his disappointment.

"No, it’s not that. She is a pureblood. Eighth generation, I believe," Fudge explained.

"Ah! She’s from one of the new wizarding families, then. That explains why she wasn't as grateful as she should be. That was one thing I fought for when I was on Hogwarts School board: the _proper_ education of wizard traditions for _all_ students. Unfortunately, there were _some_ who fought me."

"Dumbledore," Fudge growled. "That old fool has caused me nothing but trouble! Miss Dwain is just another example of his incompetence."

"Yes, yes, I must agree. The old man must be removed from office before he destroys the very foundation on which the wizarding world is built," Malfoy stated grimly. "And as for your problem with Miss Dwain, sack her. You can undoubtedly find some other pretty thing who’ll recognize how thankful she _should_ be for being given this job."

"I would if she weren’t so efficient." Fudge sighed as he stared into his cup, swirling the tea in it. "She does the work of three secretaries—I would be lost without her."

Malfoy nodded his head in understanding. "It's hard to find good help. Therefore, your answer would be to hire a personal aid," he suggested. "Someone who's young and beautiful. And who understands how to be grateful. Someone from an older family."

Fudge perked up immediately at Lucius' suggestion. "That is any excellent idea, Lucius. I'm glad you thought of it," he exclaimed as he raised his teacup in the air as a salute to the man sitting on the other side of the desk before draining the last of the tea from it. "I have a legitimate reason to hire an assistant, especially with the problems that Potter brat has caused me.

"I'm glad to help he Ministry in any way possible," Lucius drawled with a slight bow of his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And speaking of Potter, has there been any news?"

"Nothing. Unless you want to count the hundreds of owls that are arriving daily," Fudge snapped.

"Owls? From who?" Malfoy's interested piqued.

"Everyone. They're coming from all over the world, demanding that I produce that bloody child." Fudge explained with a wave of his hand as he poured himself another cup of tea. "I even have foreign governments demanding an investigation about how my Ministry is handling this case and how we watch over the other Muggle children in the British Isles." Fudge snorted grimly. "Some are _even_ demanding that I step down, Lucius. I have too much to lose if I did."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Cornelius." Malfoy leaned forward in his chair. "I won't be surprised to learn that Dumbledore or one of his followers is _paying_ these people to owl you, to make these unfounded demands."

"You really believe so?" Fudge asked quickly, the first spark of real interest showing in his eyes since this meeting had started.

"I do. I also believe that the old man probably faked Potter's disappearance and then fabricated all those letters. He's sick, Cornelius. He actual believes Potter's tale of the Dark Lord’s return," Lucius asserted as he set his half-full cup down on his desk. 

"You're right. You're right," Fudge agreed as he nods his head, his eyes narrowed in thought. "But what do I do?"

"We find Potter. With him we can exposed all the lies that they have been spreading."

 

~*~

 

Vernon Dursley wiped the icy drops of rain from his face as he stepped inside a pub on the outskirts of Pitlochry, Scotland, his shoes squishing with every step he took.

"Are you alright, sir?" an old man with nearly white hair asked in concern as he stepped from behind the bar, a bar towel in his hand.

Vernon nodded his head as he shivered. "My car broke down about half a mile outside of town," he said through chattering teeth. "Had to walk to get help."

"In this weather?" the man exclaimed. "You must be chilled to the bone!" Vernon nodded his head in agreement. "Well I know what you need, a cup of our homemade beef stew to warm you up."

Vernon licked his lips at the mention of food but only to have his face fall as his hands rummaged through his pockets. "I..."

Seeing Vernon's distress, the old man spoke up, "On the house, of course. I need someone to _taste test_ it, after all."

"Thank you... umm?" Vernon mumbled as he shifted from foot to foot.

"Sean O'Donnell, but you can just call me Sean," the old man introduced as he stuck his hand out to Vernon. "I'm the owner and operator of this pub."

"It's an honor to meet you Sean." He said shaking the older man's hand. "You can call me Vernon."

"Nice to meet you, Vernon. Now let’s get some warm food in you before my usuals start to come in," Sean announced as he guided Vernon to a table near the crackling hearth.

Sean left Vernon briefly at the table but returned shortly after, carrying a tray loaded with fresh bread, butter, a pint of ale and a heaping bowl of beef stew.

"I'm indebted to you beyond words," Vernon exclaimed vehemently as Sean set the tray in front of him, his eyes widening as he stared at the all the food.

"Think nothing of it, Vernon," Sean responded with a shrug of his shoulders as he sat down across the table, watching Vernon attack the food, "I know what's it like to have a run of bad luck."

"Try fourteen years of it," Vernon muttered around a mouth full of food.

Sean raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That long?"

"Yeah," Vernon confirmed mournfully as he stares at his food, "I... I don't want to talk about it." He continued as he starts to eat once again.

"Not a problem," Sean answered with a nod of his head. "Not meaning to pressure you at all, sir."

"You didn't. It wasn't until recently that it became really bad. That's when that whore of a wife I married ran off with everything I had worked and saved, leaving me behind with our boy, a mound of debt and no job." Vernon shuddered involuntarily.

"Ran off with another man?" Sean asked.

"No. No that would have been easier to accept," Vernon said dejectedly. "She... well let's say it was family problems. All of it stemming from that bloody nephew of her. Wish I had listen to my instincts when that... boy had come to our house."

At that moment a group of men entered the pub, shedding their wet heavy coats. 

"’Evening, Sean," one of the men called out.

"What's the menus today, eh?" another man called out.

"Beef stew," Sean called out from were he sat.

"When are you going to add haggis to the menu, Sean?" one of the men suggested

"When your wife finally agrees to make it for me," Sean replied teasingly. "Well, got to get back to work," he says standing up. "I'll ask to see if anyone can help you bring your car into town."

"Thank you," Vernon replied gratefully as he ripped a piece of bread off the loaf using it to soak up some of the juice from the stew.

"Who's the Southern?" one of the usual whispered as he leaned up against the bar.

"A bloke who's down on his luck," Sean replied as she started to set out pints for the men around the bar. "The Mrs. left him, he’s out of a job, and then his car broke down outside of town. Had to walk the whole way in."

"Poor bastard," said a man with a frizzy salt-and-pepper beard he took a swig from his pint. "When Mary and the kids get here, I'll go up and take a look at the fellow car, see what's wrong with it."

"I would appreciate it, Douglas," Sean said with a nod of this head and a smile. "How's Mary and the children?"

"They're doing well. James just received the music scholarship and the doctors removed Abby's cast today," Douglas answered as took another drink.

"That's great news," Sean exclaimed cheerfully. "Mary and you deserve some good luck."

Over the next half hour, more and more customers arrived, some sharing a pint or two with Vernon, others offering him a room for the night, and a few who offer to work on his car for no charge.

"Mary, my dear. It's about time you arrived. Your bow was getting worried that you run off with another man," Sean taunted good-naturedly with a wink to the woman with shoulder brown hair who had just walked through the door, followed by dark haired teen and a young girl who resembled her.

"Uncle Sean," Mary accosted with a disapproving but teasing tone. "You know perfectly well that there is only one man for me. You'll just have to tell all those other men they have to wait another ten years until Abby is grown up."

"Mum!" The young girl squealed in disgust.

"You're right, Mary," Sean replied with a wink, "I think I'll have to talk to Douglas about taking the family swords off the wall. Never too early to start being prepared to fend off all the bows who’ll be coming around to woe the fair lass. Don't you agree, James?" 

The dark hair boy shook his head sadly as he rolled his eyes at the antics of the adults.

"Boys are gross," Abby asserted firmly as she crossed her arms over her chest and her jaw jutted out as if daring the world to disagree with her.

"Oh be still, my broken heart," Sean said with a dramatic sigh as placed his hands over his heart.

"You're queer, Uncle Sean," Abby declared.

"I'm not queer," Sean countered. "I'm unique."

James just shook his head at the antics of the pub owner. "Come on, Abby, I'll beat you at a game of checkers," he said as he grabbed his sister's hand and dragged her over to a table near the fire.

"I'm red," Abby sung out as she escaped from her brother grasp and raced over to grab the game and start setting it up.

"Alright," James sighed, "but you're still going to lose."

"Am not," Abby said sticking out her tongue.

Vernon had just finished the last drags on ale from his mug when the young brunette girl ran up to the table besides him. With slightly glazed eyes he watched the girl set up the game, a small carefree smile on his face.

"Don't bet on it, snot," said a thin boy with dark hair as he walked up to the table. Turning slightly he looked directly at Vernon. "Good evening, sir," he said with a smile, the fire reflecting off of his glasses.

" **You** ," Vernon snarled venomously he stood up suddenly, the noise of the pub hiding his words except to the two children next to him. " **You disgusting little freak!** "

James swallowed nervously as he took a step away from the man, his eyes desperately searching for help as his sister huddled in the dark corner away from the man. "Sir, I... I think you're making a mistake."

"The only mistake I ever made was letting you live. I should have drowned you," he spat furiously through clenched teeth. "But it's not to late..."

Without warning Vernon flung himself upon the boy, his meaty hands clamping tightly around the boy's throat as his massive weight carried both of them to the floor with the boy crushed under beneath him. 

"I'm going to kill you, you worthless whore," Vernon snarled as he banged the child's head against the hardwood floor repeatedly while tightening his grasp around James' throat. "The only thing you were good for was to..."

Before Vernon could finish his sentence, once of the pub's wooden chair came crashing down upon his back; knocking him unconscious. Vernon's unconscious body crashed on the thin body of the body beneath him, his hands still wrapped around his victim's throat.

With a tug, Vernon's body was rolled onto the wooden floor, freeing the abused child.

Mary wrapped her arms around her son, murmuring words of reassurance into his hair as the child grasped at her clothing, shaking in fear.

"Seamus, you better call Constable MacCloud," Sean said as he stood next to where Vernon's body lay, the remains of a broken chair in his hands.


	16. Chapter 16

Sitting on Harry's bed, Ginny’s eyes stared out at nothing as she automatically stroked the fur of the small jet-black cat in her lap.

The cat let out a soft meow in greeting when a huge black hound pushed past the great oak doors and slinked inside. 

With a pop, the dog once again became human. After silently shutting the door, Sirius made his way across the room and sat on the bed with Ginny.

Together they continued their vigil in silence. The only sound was that of Trouble's rumbling purr.

"How's fur-brain?" Sirius finally asked as he reached out to scratch the kitten behind the ear.

Ginny blinked a couple times as she took into account the presence of another in the room with her. "What?"

"Fur-brain." Sirius nodded to Trouble. "How's is he?"

"Madam Pomfrey looked at him," Ginny said gazing down at the nearly full-grown kitten. "He was pretty banged up… broken bones, and…He was hurt." Ginny gathered up the kitten in her arms and hugged it fiercely.

Sirius reached over, placed an arm around Ginny and give her a reassuring hug. "It's going to be okay."

Turning slightly, Ginny wrapped her arms around Sirius, letting Trouble slip onto the bed. Trouble soon settled himself upon Harry's favorite blanket where he could keep a close eye on the two humans.

"It's my fault," Ginny sobbed into Sirius' chest. "If I had gotten here earlier…If I realized what happened and sounded the alarm sooner--"

"--If I had never switched placed with Peter…If I had never trusted someone who I thought was a friend…If I had never left Harry to Dumbledore all those years ago," Sirius whispered into Ginny's hair. "We can't live our lives thinking about the 'ifs' and the 'maybes.' What happened wasn't your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults." Sirius pulled back a bit from Ginny. Taking her chin in his hand, Sirius tilted Ginny's head up so he could look her in the eyes. "The blame for this solely belongs to those who took Harry from us and those who gave the orders," Sirius said in a voice that allowed for no argument.

Ginny peered into the depths of Sirius's eyes for a moment before silently nodding in assent and letting out a breath of relief. "Do we know how they were able to get Harry?" she asked. "I thought he was supposed be safe here."

"Peter," Sirius said simply, injecting that one word with volumes of regret, pain and anger.

"I hate that damned rat," Ginny growled.

Sirius chuckled slightly at Ginny's statement. "I think everyone in your family feels the same way about him." 

"No," Ginny said with a shake of her head. "I've hated him even before then.” 

Sirius's eyes narrowed slightly at Ginny's words. "Okay," Sirius said drawing out the word. "There is more to this than you're telling, isn't there? More than just what just happened."

"It's nothing important," Ginny said trying to pull away from Sirius, only to be stopped by the arms still around her. "It's nothing, Sirius. It's in the past."

Sirius reached out and tilted Ginny's chin up so he could gaze into her eyes. He looked at her, studying her for a few minutes. "What did he do to you?" 

"Nothing," Ginny snapped defensively.

"Ginny," Sirius accosted.

"You promise not to tell anyone," Ginny squeaked and finally, escaping Sirius's grasp and scooting away from him.

Sirius's looked at Ginny for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest in the form of an “X,” bowing his head solemnly. "I, Sirius Black, swear upon my honor, my soul, and my magic never to write down or to tell any being or object what you are about to tell me without your express permission. If I break this vow, may the Gods have pity on what is left of my soul."

Ginny blinked in surprised at Sirius's using such an old and possible deadly promise. “Thank you," Ginny whispered. After pausing for a few moments to gather her thoughts, Ginny began. “Before we learned the truth… about what or who Scabber really was… sometimes I would find him in my bedroom at night or early morning. Once in a while I wold find him in the bathroom when I was taking a shower. And one time I found him in my dirty laundry, he was sniffing my..." Ginny's face grew red as she pulled her legs towards herself wrapped her arms around them. "I never liked being alone with him. I didn't know why. I just didn't."

Sirius let out a shaking breath as he realized what Ginny was implying. "Have you told anyone?"

Ginny shook her head no. 

"You're going to have to," Sirius said. "You need to be checked…"

"I haven't been," Ginny said, her eyes widening slightly. "When Hermione told me about…about Peter, I realized why I was so… uncomfortable around Scabbers. Mum had always told me about not going with strangers. I found a spell, an old spell in the library and I checked and I hadn't." 

Sirius nodded a slight smile on his lips. "Good, but you still need to tell someone and you still need to be checked." Sirius raised a hand to stop Ginny's protests. "There are spells or charms he could have placed on you or anyone in your family. Spells to change people slowly over time, make them do things they would never had done."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Ron and Percy should be checked too. They both were around him longer than anyone else."

Once again, the two of them lapsed into silence.

"Do you…do you think we'll get Harry back?" Ginny asked, finally finding the nerve to ask the question she had been afraid to voice for days.

"I know we will," Sirius said with determination of a fanatic.

Ginny looked at him in amazement. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because anything else is not acceptable," Sirius replied. "We will get him back. And then we will do whatever is necessary to help him…to heal him."

The slightest hint of a smirk tugged at Ginny’s lips. "Do you think I should get him another kitten?"

Trouble shot Ginny an evil look that only a cat could manage as he extended his claws.

Before Sirius could get over his disbelief and answer Ginny, Remus popped his head in the room and looked around wearing a clouded expression with brows heavily creased.

"Have either one of you seen Hermione?" he asked.

Ginny shook her head no.

"I saw her in the library, but that was a couple hours ago," Sirius asked as he got off the bed. "Why? What's wrong?"

Remus stepped the rest of the way into the room, his eyes more troubled than ever. "She's missing."

 

~*~

 

"Wake! Wake!"

"Five more minutes, Parvati," Hermione mumbled as she hugged her pillow closer to her head.

"Not Parvati, Fittie," a high pitched voice squeaked frantically. "Missy wake now! Missy no go sleep!"

"Huh? What?" Hermione grumbled as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"Wake now!" The screeching voice shouted once again before its shrill was replaced by the squeaking bed springs as the plush mattress undulated as if someone were jumping on it.

Hermione rolled over with a groan and came face to face with a female house elf, whose pale blue dress and sparkly red slippers reminded her of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Hermione looked at the house elf. The house elf looked Hermione.

"Who are you?" Hermione finally blurted out as she raised herself onto her elbows. "And where am I?" Her eyes widened as she took in the lavishly furnished room in which she found herself. “What is going on here?”

"Fittie be me," the little house elf said with pride. "Missy is at Master's home. Master sent Fittie to wake Missy."

"Master?" Hermione asked, her eyes darting around the room in search of her wand. “Who is your master?”

"Master is master," Fittie said as if the identity of her master were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right," Hermione said half-heartedly, humoring the house-elf as she swung herself off the bed and began to search the vicinity for her wand. "Look, there has to be some sort of misunderstanding. I don’t think I should be here. Do you know where my wand is?"

"Master has Missy's magic stick," Fittie replied, causing Hermione to pause her search and lift her head to lift up in surprise. "Only Master's men allow to carry stick."

Hermione blinked a couple times at the house elf as what Fittie said swept the last of the sleep from her mind. She quickly turned her attention the heavy oak door and the windows, only to sigh in despair when she found them to be sealed and fortified by shielding charms. 

With a determination born from fear, Hermione ransacked the walk-in closet, desperate to find something that may help her to defend herself should the need arise, only to have her mounting frustration and anxiety intensify after only finding three pairs of silk socks. 

Her search of the ornately carved set of drawers yielded equally futile results. "They could have been considerate enough to leave a letter opener or quill behind!" She growled softly to herself. 

"Where am I, and why am I here?" she snapped at the house elf, her voice brimming with aggravation. 

Fittie was apparently unperturbed by Hermione's harsh tone. "Master's men brought Missy here. Master told Fittie to care for Missy," the house elf said simply. "Master said Missy will fix sick one."

Exhaling slowly, Hermione took a couple steps over to the bed as sat down on the edge to gather her thoughts. "Sick one?" she repeated.

"Sick one sick. Master's fixers can't fix sick one," Fittie explained, her ears drooping slightly. "Master not happy when master's men brought sick one. Master's men said Missy can fix sick one. So Master has Master's men get Missy."

"Does this sick one have black hair and green eyes?"

"Fittie does not know. Master care for sick one. No one allow near sick one," Fittie replied.

"Can Fittie...I mean, can you help me see the sick one?" Hermione asked. "I think he's a friend of mine who was taken from his family. I need to take him home."

"Oh no. Fittie can never to that." The house elf replied, aghast as she pulled on her ears in a nervous gesture. "Fittie good house elf. Missy want Fittie to do bad."

"No! No I don't want you to be bad, Fittie," Hermione said as she grabbed Fittie's hand to stop the small house elf from hurting herself. "I'm…I'm scared, and I want to go home. I want to find my friend and go home." 

"Missy no be scared. Master good master." Fittie said patting Hermione on the knee in a comforting way. "Master does not allow Fittie to punish Fittie. Master punishes Fittie. When Fittie bad Fittie is not allow to cook or clean. Fittie must think on what Fittie has done."

"That’s very nice, Missy," Hermione said half-heartedly. "You need to understand that your master's men took me from my school, from my friends. My friends and I have a lot of enemies, bad witches and wizard who would want to hurt or kill us. I don't know if your Master is one of them. I just want to see the Sick One and take him home with me." 

"Master will not hurt Missy. Fittie shows. Missy follows Fittie. Fittie take Missy to Master," the small house elf took Hermione's hand, half-dragging and half guiding her out of the room and through the mansion before reaching a closed door.

After receiving a faint invitation to her knock, Fittie swung open the door as she herded Hermione inside. 

"Missy see Master is good Master," the small house elf said.

"You!" Hermione cried as she stared in shock at the man sitting in the chair before the fire.

"Miss Granger," the man said with a smooth, smoky voice, "welcome to my humble abode."


	17. Chapter 17

"Lord Voldemort," Hermione said with a slight trembler in her voice as Fittie pulled the door shut behind her. "Where's Harry?" she demanded.

Voldemort raised a sculptured eyebrow until it disappeared under a mass of black hair at the young woman. "You recognized me?" he asked in surprised as he sat his wineglass on the table next time him.

Hermione raised her chin at the Dark Lord as she looked down upon him. "Your photo is in the Hogwarts: History of Head Girls and Boys. I'm assuming you used potion or charm to make you look like you are now." At this the Dark Lord nodded his head. "Is it temporary or permanent?"

Voldemort nodded his head with a smirk on his lips. "You truly are the smartest girl of your generation. It's permanent."

Hermione nodded her head as she accepted the answer. "And where is Harry?"

The Dark Lord nodded his head towards a bed on the other side of the room.

Keeping one eye on the Dark Lord Hermione warily made her way towards the bed only hurrying her footsteps as she passed You Know Who.

Pulling the curtain back Hermione cried out in angst, "Oh Harry!" as Harry's dull green eyes stared out into space.

"I had ordered my men to find him and only to find him," Voldemort said from here he sat. "They were not to bring him here… to bring him before me but Wormtail...he wanted to gain favor… to have more power among my men…"

"Why!" Hermione cry out as she turns towards him. "Why did you do this? What do you gain from this? Why Harry? Why me?"

Voldemort rose from his chair as faced Hermione. "Why Harry you ask?" Voldemort said as he stared Hermione in the eye. "Because he is the answer to a question; and why you, because that is not Harry," Voldemort pointed at the Harry were he lay in his bed.

Hermione turned slightly and looked at Harry once again.

"That is not the Harry Potter I have face in battle. That is not my enemy. That is a… a broken child. And you know how to fix him."

"Fix him!" Hermione exclaimed. "You want me to fix him so you can kill him? To destroy the one hope we have left in this world of defeating you."

"I want you to fix him so I know the answer! So we can end this damned war! A war I did not start nor wanted!"

Hermione stepped back from Voldemort anger. "But you…"

"You know nothing Miss Granger! You know nothing about what this war is really about!"

"It's about power and your hatred of your father and all those who aren’t wizard born," Hermione snapped back as she realized she had nothing to lose.

"Then you know absolutely nothing." With that the Dark Lord turned his back to Hermione. 

Grabbing his glass of wine from the table next to the chair he was sitting in when Hermione entered the room, He Who Must Not Be Name walked over to the fireplace; his gaze locked onto the dancing flames.

Hermione looked at the back of the most dreaded man in the world then at injured boy she once knew as her best friend. "If it's not power and hatred then what do you want?"

Voldemort looked over his shoulder at her briefly before turning his attention back to the crackling fire. "Answers," he said simple

Hermione snort. "Answers; but to what questions?"

Voldemort turned and looked at the young Gryffindor. "Am I doing what needs to be done the right way?"

"What you've done?" Hermione said in disbelief. "Murder, rapes, torture… and you question if you're done the right thing!"

"The deaths of a handful does not equal the crimes the wizard community has committed," Lord Voldemort snapped throwing his wineglass against the back wall of the fireplace where it shattered into a million pieces and rain down into the flames.

Hermione reared back as if slap. "Well then why don't you enlighten me, Lord Voldemort!" spat Hermione. 

"Tom."

Hermione blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Call me Tom," Lord Voldemort formerly known as Tom Riddle stated as he ran his hand through his messy black hair.

Hermione stated at him in shock. She opened her mouth to say something only to close it once again. Open. Close. Open. Close.

"I think a spot of tea is in order," Tom said as he summoned a house elf, which he directed to bring a pot of tea and sandwiches. 

Before Hermione could recover from her shock and make a comment about the enslavement of house elves, a house elf appeared with a pot of tea and sandwiches then vanished.

"How do you take your tea, Miss Granger?" Tom asked as he poured the tea.

"Two sugars please and a touch of lemon," she replied falling back upon the proper manners that her grandmother drilled into her head when she was younger.

Adding the sugar to the tea Tom handed Hermione her cup and gently directed her to a chair next his own. Pouring a second cup, Tom settled down into his chair.

"Allow me to tell you a story, Miss Granger," Tom said after taking a sip of tea. "Once upon a time a young witch fell in love and marriage Muggle. Together they created a baby but before the baby was born the witch confessed to her husband that she was a witch. The husband either in fear of his wife, his mortal soul or just using it as an excuse left his wife and unborn child.

The young witch turned to her family for help but because she had soiled herself with a Muggle they wouldn’t raise a hand to help her. However, they did make sure the unborn babe could attend Hogwarts with just enough gold to get started when he or she graduated.

Well as with any other pregnancy the time came to deliver and it was a perfectly normal delivery; a baby boy but there was a problem. The mother was bleeding and they couldn't stop it. And with the last bit of life the witch held her child and named him… named him Daniel after the Muggle who stole her heart and broke it.

The child was sent to an orphanage because no wizard would take a half-blood especially one whose mother might have had distant relations who had dabbled in Dark Magic. And no Muggle would take a child with unnamed parentage or one whose father was wealthy and powerful.

Now Daniel's childhood mirrored that of Mr. Potter but unlike Mr. Potter, Daniel did have one bright spot, a girl his own age, named Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a naturally happy person. No matter how bad things became she could always find something to be happy about, to smile about.

Now as these two children began to grow odd things would happen around them. Hair would turn colors. They would vanish from one place and reappear in another. Things would float in midair."

"Accidental magic," Hermione said

Tom nodded his head. "Yes. It turns out that Elizabeth was a witch, a Muggle-born witch, much like yourself."

Then one day when both children were 11 a letter arrived for Daniel, a letter inviting Daniel to a school named Hogwarts."

"And Elizabeth? Did a letter come for her?" Hermione asked

Tom shook his head no. "When Daniel met with the teacher who was to help him get situated in the wizard world he immediately mentioned to the teacher about Elizabeth. The professor told Daniel that he would bring this to the attention of the Headmaster. But by the time September 1st came there was still no letter for Elizabeth."

After the sorting feast Daniel approached the Headmaster and asked about Elizabeth. The Headmaster informed Daniel that his hands were tied and he couldn't invite Elizabeth to Hogwarts this year but he had hope that he could convince the Board of Director to allow her to join next year." 

"What! But why? Why…" Hermione sputtered. 

Tom held up a hand for Hermione to wait. "When Daniel went back to the orphanage at the end of the year Elizabeth had changed. Not a great deal but she didn't smile as often or laugh as much as she before."

Tom sat in silence for a moment before continuing. "In the beginning of the summer Daniel started to teach Elizabeth everything he had learned at Hogwarts so that she wouldn’t be so far behind when she went to Hogwarts the next year. But then came the letter, not the letter inviting Elizabeth to Hogwarts but a letter threatening Daniel with expulsion if he continues to use magic outside of school and for teaching magic to a non-student.

When September 1st came again, Elizabeth had still not received a letter. And as he did last year Daniel approached the Headmaster and was told yet again that it was out of his hands.

And when Daniel returned to Elizabeth the following summer she had changed yet again. She was easy distracted. She had problems concentrating. And she hardly ever smiled anymore."

"The next year came and went and when I…when Daniel returned to the orphanage… Elizabeth had become aggressive with the other children. She would lash out at anyone and everyone for no reason what so ever; even Daniel was not safe from his friend's wraith. And when she realized what she'd done she would break down into tears and rock herself alone for hours.

During the fourth year a professor with took pity on Daniel or had enough of his pleading and finally told him why Elizabeth was never invited and why now it was too late.

Elizabeth was never invited to Hogwarts because she was poor. Hogwarts is expensive. Starting a life after graduating is expensive. And important people in wizard society many centuries ago had decided that they did not want to absorb the cost of supporting Muggle-borns until they are fully productive members of society. So any Muggle-born, whose family did not have a high enough income, was never invited.

"But that's changed," Hermione stated. "Colin... Colin Creevey, his father is a milkman."

"And his mother is a best selling romance novelist," Tom explained. "I'm surprised you didn't figure that out after all photography is an expensive hobby."

"Oh," Hermione said simply. "But I'm sure things have changed. Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore has lowered the income requirement but I'm fighting to end it. If you want to know the truth it was Dumbledore's work that saved you from Elizabeth's fate," Tom said his eyes softening. 

"What?" Hermione said. "What do you mean?"

"You're parents are dentist are they not, Miss Granger?"

"Yes," Hermione replied not following Tom's question.

"If you had been slightly poorer then you would never have been invited to Hogwarts," Tom explained. "And because you would never have been trained to use you magic, it would have consumed you like it did to my poor Elizabeth. Your magic would have driven you insane until death would have been your only relief."

"No," Hermione said softly in shock, her teacup shaking in her hands until she set it aside.

"Yes. Children who have magic and are not trained are doomed to insanity and death. Because simply, they lack money. Thousands of powerful children who lack the funds have been left to slow and painful death while other children who are barely squib have been invited to Hogwarts," Tom explain. "Of course they are charged a higher fee than those who are wizard born or half blood." 

"That not right!"

"Of course it's not but as long those who hold the reins of power are in power nothing will change."

"We could go to the papers. Organize protests. Get the word out that this is happening," Hermione said as she got out of her chair and paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. "The wizard community won't stand for this once they learn what is going on."

A sad smile came to Tom's face as he watched the fierce girl start to plan their way of attack. "Miss Granger, Hermione… how many people have helped you with your campaign to free the house elves. How many people have agreed with you that the enslavement of the house elves is wrong? How many people tried to explain to you exactly why freeing the house elves will lead to their extinction in less than a year time?"

Hermione stopped her pacing and actual listen to what Tom said. "Their extinction?"

"House elves are magical creatures Hermione. They feed off the magic of their owners much like a parasite and in exchange they do what we ask of them and they care for their food source."

"You make it sounds like we're cattle." Hermione snorted at the thought of wizard cows.

Tom smiled in amusement. "Beloved cattle would probably be a better description. What you should have been doing was fighting for them to have rights; fighting for them to leave a master that is abusing them. Fighting for them to have children as they please and with someone they love instead of when their masters declare they may."

With a sigh of disgust, Hermione sat back down her arms crossed over her chest. "At least I was trying something."

"True," Tom said as he took Hermione's teacup and pours her a second cup, "but you did not research your problem enough to realize how to attack the problem. You're method was very Gryffindor."

Accepting her teacup back Hermione took a slip her tea. "So what happened to Elizabeth? And what caused 'Daniel' to use murder, rape and torture to fight those in power?"

Tom nodded his head in the acceptance that Hermione had seen through his thinly veiled story. "She died a week before I was to start my sixth year. I found her in the nearby pond. The official ruling was an accidentally drowning," Tom said.

"And you don't believe that?"

Tom shook his head. "Elizabeth was… she was so far gone by that time. I think someone killed her either to cover something up or to end her misery. Or maybe their own"

"And your sixth year, The Chamber of Secrets?"

"A mistake," Tom replied. "I was angry at the world. I think I realized then that the only way to change how things were done was to have power; power enough to make them respect me; to get them to listen to me. I was angry at the Muggle-borns who got to come to Hogwarts while their brothers and sisters slowly subsume to madness. I wanted them all to hurt like I hurt, to suffer like Elizabeth had suffered."

"Don't get me wrong Hermione I regret every life I had to take, every lie I told, every promise I made to make them follow me," Tom said with a nod to the door. "But what is more important the life of the one or the life of the many?"


	18. Chapter 18

_"Don't get me wrong Hermione I regret every life I have had to take, every lie I have told, every promise I made to make them follow me," Tom said with a nod to the door. "But what is more important the life of the one or the life of the many?"_

"The many," Hermione replied.

"That is what many wizards say," Tom replied. "Their society… their way of life is more important than a handful of poor Muggle children. That to sacrifice one child," Tom turned to look at Harry, "to the Gods of war is better than the death of a dozen Aurors."

"But that isn't what I meant!" Hermione sputtered.

"Then you see my dilemma," Tom replied sadly. "Because there is always the one and there is always the many."

Hermione shook her head. "What do you want of me? Of Harry?" she demanded.

Tom sighed. "I want to end this war. I want to rest. To do what I promised Elizabeth all those years ago."

"You want us to surrender?" Hermione demanded.

Tom shook his head. "I want things to work out the best for all. I want all the children to be allowed to come to Hogwarts no matter how rich or poor or who their parents are! I want to give them the chance at a life!"

"So how do you suggest we go about that?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Tom admitted. "At one time I thought I could force the wizard world to see the truth. Force them to realize what they were doing to children but it… I lost control… it became a matter of blood purity instead of saving children. And now I'm left wondering if I lose this war… will everything I have done… all the blood spilt in my name… for my hopes be for nothing."

Hermione licked her lips nervously. "If Harry wins… after he's recovered from what happened to him… he'll fight for them. He’ll make the wizard world see that they're wrong."

Tom shook his head. "That’s been tried. Dumbledore tried after he defeated Grindelwald."

Hermione shook her head. "Things have changed. I'm sure if Harry push…"

"They're simply lower the amount a Muggle born has to pay," Tom interrupted. "No it has to be all or nothing."

"It will be," Hermione said with absolute conviction. 

Tom looked directly at Hermione, their eyes meeting and with a brief nod of his head Tom accepted Hermione declaration.

A boyish smile came to Tom's face. "I hope you don't mind if I take out a few more… problematic wizards between now and then."

Hermione licked her lips at what Tom was implying. "It's not like I can stop you… but it doesn't mean I won't try. After all isn't this part of your dilemma. One life or many."

Tom nodded his head in acceptance. "Speaking of one life I have something to show you," he rose to his feet, offering her his hand. "I'm sure you'll find it very interesting."

"And no harm will come to me?' Hermione asked, staring up at Tom.

"The only harm that will befall you is that which you inflict upon yourself," Tom replied. "As I promised neither I nor my followers will harm you during your stay."

Hermione looked Tom directly in the eyes before placing her hand in his and allowing him to help her out of her chair.

Tucking her to his side, their arms intertwined like a gentleman escorting a lady, Tom guided Hermione through the manor and into the dungeon.

"One day while in Paris, Lucius came across the most interesting thing imaginable," Tom explained as they walked down the hall past the empty rooms. "Understandably he brought it home for me as a present." 

And with that Tom opened the only closed door in the dungeon and bowed Hermione in. With a cautious look at her host, Hermione stepped into the cell her eyes almost immediately fixing on a figure lying curled up on the floor in the far corner of the room,.

"Wake up my dear pet," Tom called out cheerfully as he stepped into the room. "You have guests."

The figure jerked awake at the sound of Tom's voice. The person quickly scrabbled for the corner, putting their back to the wall.

Hermione stared at the prisoner in confusion. Her eyes roaming over the figure taking in everything she could about the person… the woman… middle-aged… mousy blond hair… a long neck and angular face…

"Petunia Dursley," Hermione said in awe.

"Evans," the woman corrected as she brushed her hair from her face. "My name is Petunia Evans."

"Oh I know **exactly** who you are and **what** you have done," Hermione growled in a warning tone of voice.

Petunia snorted as she rose from her crouch and stood up straight. "You mean the lies that nasty boy told you? Or the lies from Vernon?"

Hermione ground her teeth together as her hand opened and closed as if she was subconsciously wishing her wand would appear in her grasp.

"As you can see, Pet hasn't been harmed a bit aside from the few injuries she suffered getting here," Tom commented.

"No harm!" Petunia shrieked. "You… you allow those… beasts to assault me!"

Hermione turned to Tom questioningly.

"House elves," Tom answered Hermione’s unspoken question. "I ordered them to tend to Pet's basic need but for some reason they seem to dislike her. They seem to enjoy giving her a shower with a fire hose. Of course they aim for the ceiling so they don't truly harm her with the hose but from what I understand they can still knock her off her feet with it."

"And they don't feed me," Petunia pointed out something else that the house elves had done to her.

"Gruel and a half a loaf of bread," Tom replied. "And water of course."

"It's for peasants!" Petunia exclaimed.

"My house elves make a very tasty breakfast gruel," Tom stated.

Hermione nodded her head. "Madam Pomfrey has always served some type of gruel in the morning when I've been in the hospital wing. I like to mix a banana or some berries with mine."

"Have you ever tried it with a little bit of cocoa and a tab or two of butter?' Tom asked as he licked his lips. 

"How can you eat that! It's gruel! Food for the peasants!" Petunia exclaimed. "It's disgusting!"

Hermione and Tom turned and looked at Petunia Evans as if she were some strange insect they’d suddenly found.

"I'm curious about one thing," Hermione continued to stare at Petunia

"And what is that, Hermione?" Tom asked.

"Why haven't you… I mean I don't condone torture… but why haven't you…" Hermione trailed off as she wave a hand in Petunia's direction.

Tom sighed wearily. "To be honest… I couldn't think of what to do to her. Death would be too quick to truly be a punishment. I could have turned her over to Ministry but they're more likely to let her go since she's a Muggle. And I'm not sure if she could convince the Muggle government that it wasn’t all her husband's doing and that she was an abused wife," he explained. "Rape… seems so blasé. I really can't think up a suitable punishment for her. And in a way it doesn't seem right for me to decide her punishment however I don't think Potter has the heart to seek justice for himself."

Hermione nodded her head. "You're right about that. He would seek justice through the courts but he would never seek out revenge for himself. But he could for others," she stated as she glanced in Tom's direction.

Tom glanced at Hermione and nodded his head slightly as to indicate that he understood her message about Harry seeking revenge on him for what Voldemort had done to others.

"So why did you bring me here?" Hermione demanded.

Tom looked over at Petunia for a moment before turning back to Hermione. "For you to decide her punishment, her fate."

"What!" Hermione exclaimed.

"As I said before I can not think of a suitable punishment for her. So I decided that the best person to decide on her punishment would be those who loved her victim the most," Tom explained.

"Me?" Hermione said meekly.

"And others," Tom replied. "You don't have to decide her fate alone but you can not free her or make her death quick. I want her to suffer."

Hermione turned and looked at Petunia and nodded her head in acceptance. “How can I inform you about the fate we decide for her?” she asked

“You can’t!” Petunia screeched. “I’m not some animal you can put down. I demand a trial!”

Hermione looked at Petunia in surprise. “Mrs. Dursley…”

“It’s Evans. Miss Evans.” Petunia interrupted.

“As far as I know you haven’t divorced your husband yet, Mrs. Dursley,” Hermione snapped back. “I don’t think you realize the exact nature of the situation you’re in. He’s,” she pointed at Tom, “the bad guy. I’m one of the good guys and you’ve pissed both of us off! So you better pray that we don’t simply torture to death for what you’ve done to Harry!”

“It was my husband who did it,” Petunia said in a panic. “It’s all his fault.”

Hermione looked at her. “You disgust me,” she snarled. “I feel dirty just being in the same room with you.” And with that Hermione turned and stormed out of the room.

Tom looked at the door Hermione had exited, then at Petunia. With a shrug of his shoulder, Tom turned and walked out the door. “Daisy,” he called out to his house elf, “our guest is dirty again. Please give her a bath.”

 

~*~

 

The sun was just starting to climb into the sky when a cloaked figure appeared at the very edge of Hogsmeade. A second figure was with the first but instead of being upright this figure was floating horizontal to the ground at waist level to the first.

The standing figure pulled their hood back to reveal the face of Hermione Granger.

Hermione looked off into the distance where Hogwarts could just be made out. Turning to the figure floating beside her, she said, “Time to go home, Harry,” as she pulled out a cloak from the bag on her shoulder. 

She covered Harry with the invisibility so that he disappeared from view. It was the same cloak that Pettigrew had used to sneak Harry out of Hogwarts. Pulling her wand out Hermione cast a spell so that Harry would follow her before starting to walk to the school.


	19. Chapter 19

Madam Pomfrey was just covering Harry up when his friends burst into the room.

“Are they alright? Did You-Know-Who hurt them? How did they escape?” Ron said in a rush of words.

“We’re fine, Ron,” Hermione said from a chair near Harry’s bed.

Ginny rushed over and gave the older girl a hug. “Are you alright? He didn’t hurt you did he?” she asked.

“Tom didn’t hurt us. He was a gentleman the whole time,” Hermione answered.

Ginny stepped back and gave Hermione a confused look.

“It’s alright, Ginny. Really,” Hermione said. “Headmaster.” She said in greeting as Dumbledore entered the room.

“Miss Granger,” Dumbledore replied before turning to Madam Pomfrey and saying. “How is he?”

“Aside from slipping back into his own mind, he’s fine. No sign of physical torture or the use of any spells on him,” Pomfrey replied.

“Tom didn’t want Harry kidnapped,” Hermione said. “He just wanted to know where Harry was but Peter decided to bring Harry to him.”

“Tom?” Dumbledore said as he walked around Harry’s bed towards Hermione.

Hermione nodded her head. “He had me brought to him in the hope that I could fix him. He wanted to know the answer.”

“The answer?” Neville chimed in. “What answers is he looking for.”

Hermione looked over at Longbottom. “If he was doing the right thing,” she answered before turning and looked at Dumbledore. “He told me about Elizabeth and the other Muggle-born children.”

Dumbledore slowly sat down in a chair next to Hermione. “That is a name I haven’t heard of in a long time.”

“So it’s true. What he told me about what happens to the poorer Muggle-born is true,” Hermione demanded.

Dumbledore nodded his head.

“What happens to the poorer Muggle-born?” Ron demanded.

“If the Muggle-born isn’t wealthy enough to come to Hogwarts then… then they never learn magic,” Hermione explained.

Neville inhaled sharply. “That’s condemning them to death.”

Dumbledore looked away from the eyes of his students. “My power as the Headmaster is limited when it comes to the Muggle-born. It is the Ministry that sets the cost of tuition and the quota for the number of Muggle-born allowed into our world. I have been successful in getting them to agree to lower the cost to a point but there are still some Muggle-borns who are never invited.”

“My father collects comic books,” Hermione said. “My mother thinks it’s a silly hobby but my father enjoys it. He used to read them to me. His favorite one is the X-Men. It’s about a school for people with powers...”

“Like magic,” Fred or was it George chimed in.

Hermione shook her head. “Not exactly. The leader of this school was Professor Xavier. He tried to teach his students to use their powers wisely. To use them to help others and not to lash out in hate when people reacted badly to them because they had powers because they were mutants.”

“He sounds like a wise man,” Dumbledore said.

Hermione nodded her head. “There are people and governments in that world that fear the mutants because they have powers; they bring change to the world. And they don’t like change. Professor Xavier is trying to change the world, to show them that they don’t have to fear mutants. But some mutants feel the change is too slow, so they’re trying to force the change to happen faster.”

“I take it that isn’t a good idea,” Dumbledore commented in a wise tone of voice.

“Yes and no,” Hermione replies. “Their leader is a man named Magneto. He and his family were sent to a concentration camp. There his family was killed and he was forced to work at the camp and help dispose of the remains those who were killed at the camp. Eventually he was set free by Allied forces. For a time he worked with Professor Xavier to help mutants but then he started to see how the governments of the world were treating mutants. He saw how much the governments were like the Nazis. He saw the possibility that the governments of the world would treat mutants like the Nazis treated the Jews, Gypsies or anyone who was different or disagreed with them. He felt that the only way to force the change needed onto the world was by using any force necessary to stop them after all who would stop him.”

Hermione turned and looked Dumbledore directly in the eyes. “You’re like Professor Xavier, Headmaster. And Tom… Voldemort is like Magneto. He’s not an evil man, not a villain but a man doing what he has to protect others who can’t protect themselves.”

And with that Hermione rose to her feet and walked out of the room.

 

~*~

 

A few days after Hermione and Harry’s return to Hogwarts, Hermione gathered Harry’s friends in an unused classroom.

The group watched Hermione pace back and forth, back and forth until Ron sighed a much put upon sigh, grabbed her and forced her into a chair. “Talk,” he demanded.

Hermione looked into Ron’s eyes then at everyone else. Chewing on her bottom lip she said, “I did something you’re not going to be happy with.”

“We won’t know that until you tell us,” Dean pointed out.

“Tom… Voldemort has Mrs. Dursley,” Hermione admitted.

“Is she still alive?” Ginny asked.

“Is she still sane?” Neville said.

“Yes and yes,” Hermione answered. “Tom hasn’t allowed anyone to harm her.

“Why?” Ron demanded

“Because he wasn’t the one harmed by her. Harry was,” Hermione explained. “He also knew that the Wizard world won’t do anything since she's Muggle and Harry won’t because he’s Harry.”

“So what did you do?” Ginny demanded.

Hermione pulled out a scroll of parchment for her bag. “Tom gave me this,” she said unrolling the scroll to show that it was blank. “What we write on the parchment will appear on another scroll that Tom has and he can reply the same way.”

“Ok, let me be the one to ask the stupid question… Why? Why give you this? Why let you know that he has Harry’s aunt?” Seamus asked.

Hermione took a deep breath. “Because he wants me… all of us… Harry’s real family to decide her fate.”

Everyone was silent as they looked at the parchment.

“Kill her,” Ginny said softly.

Hermione shook her head. “We’re not allowed to kill her or set her free.”

“Or into insanity,” Neville said.

The others turned to look at Neville. 

“Those that are insane… they’re free of guilt. They don’t understand why they’re being hurt,” Neville explain. “It would be like hurting a child or puppy.”

Hermione nodded her head. “Or insane,” she added on to the rule for Petunia’s fate.

“Does Dumbledore know you have this,” Ron nodded toward the parchment.

Hermione shook her head. “I’ll give it to him after we’ve decided on her fate.”

Ron nodded his head. “She hated magic and anything she thought was freaky or unnatural.”

“So the worst punishment would be to be forced to deal with something magical every day for the rest of her life,” Seamus said.

“Lock her up with only a house elf delivering her food until she dies of old age,” Ginny demanded.

Neville shook his head. “Too nice,” he said. “She would die believing that she was right and this was our way to silence her. No, she has to suffer for her crimes and be forced to see the truth.”

“A living statue,” Dean said softly.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“What did you say Dean?” Ron asked.

“I said a living statue,” he replied. “Over the summer my dad and I watched a Vincent Price marathon and one of the movies was the 'House of Wax'.”

“Oh that’s horrible but brilliant!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Ok can you explain that to those of us from the wizard world?” Ginny asked. “Who is Vincent Price? And why would Dean be watching him run?”

Those from the Muggle world looked at Ginny oddly.

“What do you mean run, Gin?” Seamus asked.

“I was told a marathon was a long distance foot race among Muggles,” Ginny explained.

“Not that kind of marathon,” Dean shook his head. “A movie marathon. It’s when a series of films with a similar theme or actor or actress is played back to back for hours.”

“Vincent Price was an actor who starred in a lot of horror movies,” Hermione explained. “He has this voice… this laugh…” Hermione shivered at the thought. 

“The man was scary when he wanted to be,” Dean chimed in. “I mean today’s films are really scary compared to the old films but Vincent Price was the Crown Prince of Darkness. The only one we have close to matching Vincent Price would be Jack Nicholson.”

“Ohhhh ‘The Shining’.” Hermione shivered once again. “Scary movie.”

“Must be a Muggle thing,” Ron said to Neville who nodded his head in agreement.

“Why is it that when there is something that someone raised in the wizard world doesn’t understand they dismiss it by saying in a snooty tone of voice it’s a Muggle thing,” Dean snapped. “It would be like me saying that Quidditch is a wizard thing,” he said in the same tone of voice the others had used when saying ‘it was a Muggle thing.’

Those that were Muggle-born or Muggle-raised looked at their friends, waiting for an answer.

“Well you need to understand one thing,” one of the twins said.

“You see our mother, who is a saint among mothers,” the other twin picked up where his brother left off.

The other brother started to speak again. “She thinks Muggle things…”

“Like movies.”

“Television.”

“Books.”

“And so on.”

“Will give us bad ideas.”

“And rot our brains.”

“In other words she’s afraid you might get brilliant ideas from it,” Dean said with a smirk.

“Yes,” the twins replied as one, their shoulders slumped in defeat.

“We’re getting off track,” Hermione said with a shake of her head. “We’re here to deal with Mrs. Durlsey’s, not argue over the wizard world’s fear of being inferior to the Muggle world.”

Ron crossed his arms over his chest with a snort. “Hermione’s right. That’s an argument for another time. Right now we have to decide what to do with that… woman. I for one like the idea of a living statue. Place her someplace in the wizard world where she’s forced to see people being happy, living a life she’s unable to live.”

“Someplace were birds can crap on her and drunken men was piss on her,” Ginny added in.

“One problem with that,” one of the twins chimed in.

The other twin nodded his head. “We’ve seen Mrs. Dursley…”

“And she’s a bagger.”

“She would frighten way small children…”

“And animals but with enough fire whiskery…

“She might be pretty.”

“Of course that would take a lot of fire whiskery.”

“Is it even possible to create a living statue?” Hermione said thoughtfully.

Neville nodded his head. “Its borderline dark magic since the person knows what is going on and can still feel. It used to be used on the battlefield to save someone’s life because they had all the time they needed, to get them to a healer. It fell out of favor when better spells and charms were created.”

“I never heard of that,” Ginny commented.

Neville shrugged his shoulder. “One of my ancestors was a healer so we have a number of books on the subject in the family library.”

“Right,” Hermione said with a sharp nod of her head. “So does anyone disagree with Mrs. Dursley’s fate?”

“Harry will want to know what happened to her when he gets better,” Ron pointed out.

“I’ll never tell,” Dean said. “As far as Harry has to know, she disappeared never to be seen again.”

The others nodded their heads in agreement. And with that Hermione pulled out there bottle of ink and quill.

 

~*~

 

It was after the evening meal that Hermione stopped the Headmaster and handed him the scroll of parchment.

“Tom asked me to give you this,” she said

Dumbledore took the scroll from her hands and looked at it. “Do you know what this is, Miss Granger?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, her head held high.

“And did you use it?” Dumbledore asks.

Hermione nodded her head. “Yes.”

“And what did you tell him, Miss Granger?” Dumbledore demanded.

“Nothing that will endanger Hogwarts, the Wizard world or the rest of the world,” Hermione replied.

Dumbledore stared at Hermione for a moment before saying, “You do know they say justice comes to those who wait.”

Hermione eyes narrows. “And sometimes justice needs a helping hand. I know what my crimes against the world are, Headmaster. And I sleep soundly at night. Can you say the same?”

And with that Hermione turned on her heels and walked away.

Dumbledore stared after for a moment before looking down at the scroll in his hand. “No. No, I don’t sleep well at night.”

 

~*~

 

Dumbledore stared at the unrolled scroll of parchment sitting on his desk for most of the night before reaching out for his quill.

‘Hello Tom’ he wrote on the parchment.

‘Albus.’ Appeared on the parchment in reply. ‘It’s been a long time.’

‘Yes it has been.’

‘I’m assuming Miss Granger and Mr. Potter returned to Hogwarts unharmed,’ appeared on the parchment.

Dumbledore tapped his quill against his bottom lip in thought before putting tip to parchment once again. ‘They did.’

‘Good. I hope that Mr. Potter can recover quickly from my servant’s foolish actions.’

‘I would have assumed that you would want Mr. Potter to be no longer among the living so you can continue with your plans.’

‘I have enough blood on my hands without having to add the blood of someone who could not defend themselves or understand what was happening.’

‘And yet you attacked Mr. Potter when he was a baby.’

‘Of that I do not deny and I have no excuse to explain my actions except to say I was sending him to join his parents instead of seeing him land in the hands of someone who would not love him.’ 

Dumbledore’s lips thinned as he stared at the words on the parchment as they silently shouted out their accusation.

‘It could have been different,’ Dumbledore wrote, ‘you could have worked with me to change the laws.’

‘You know as well as I do that they won’t change the law. They might lower some requirements so a few more would be accepted but they will never accept the poorest of the Muggle-born. No. It is better to tear down the walls, to fight fire with fire than to beg for a few crumbs.’

‘And yet despite all you’ve done, all the death, nothing has changed. There is still a limit on how many Muggle-borns are allowed to come to Hogwarts,’ Dumbledore wrote.

‘And that particular problem is your fault,’ the parchment replied. ‘When was the last time you pushed for the income limit on Muggle-borns to be lowered? When did you push for Muggle-borns to be allowed more positions in the Ministry instead of forcing them into low paying jobs that no Pure-blood would ever accept?’

‘If you have forgotten Pure-bloods like Malfoy will veto any plan that would allow more Muggle-born to be allowed to come to Hogwarts.’

‘Albus, you old fool, did you even for once think about who Malfoy obeys? I would have ordered him and my other followers to agree to the new laws after arguing for a bit. I would have spun them some lies to get them to agree; claim it was part of a master plan you were falling for. Not that any of that matters now.’

‘Why doesn’t it matter now?’ Dumbledore wrote.

‘Because no matter what happens; if I kill Potter or he kills me, I’ve won.’

‘You won? How? I don’t understand.’

‘My biggest mistake in the first war was Lily Potter. If I knew then what I know now, I would have recruited her and set her against the Wizengamot. I’m sure she would have changed the world.’

‘She probably would have but that doesn’t explain how you won.’

‘I’ve been given a second chance in Miss Granger,’ appeared on the parchment. ‘She now knows the wizard world’s dirty little secret and I can’t see her stopping until it no longer happens.’

Dumbledore stared at the parchment before he started to snicker. ‘I almost pity my fellow Wizengamot members.’

 

~*~

 

“Good morning, Mr. Malfoy,” Miss Dwain, Minister Fudge’s secretary said as Lucius walked into the office.

“Miss Dwain. Is the Minister in?” Malfoy replied with a nod towards Fudge’s office door.

“He is,” she replied, “but he’s not feeling very well. He just can’t seem to shake this winter cold.”

“Hmmm,” Malfoy said thoughtfully. “Have you scheduled an appointment with a healer? Perhaps they can have something to help him.”

“Five times and each time the Minister has me reschedule. His next appointment is at 2 today,” Miss Dwain stated.

“I’ll make sure he attends it. After all we can’t have a great man like Fudge die on us, now can we?” Lucius said.

“No, sir,” Miss Dwain replied with a little smile. “You can go right in, Mr. Malfoy.”

Malfoy nodded his head before opening the office door and walking in. “Cornelius, Miss Dwain says you’re still feeling ill.”

Fudge sat at his desk.

“Cornelius? What ails you, my friend?” Malfoy said as he moved closer. 

“Cornelius?” Malfoy said once again as he reached out to touch Fudge’s shoulder only to have Fudge fall forward, his face slamming into the top of the desk.

“Crap!” Lucius said in disgust as he stared at Fudge’s dead body. With a weary sigh Malfoy walked back to the outer office. “Miss Dwain you should cancel all of the Minister’s appointment and call for the undertaker.”

Miss Dwain stared up at Malfoy from her seat. “The Minister is dead?”

“Unfortunately. I need to go and alert the member of the Wizengamot,” he said as he walked out of the office.

Dwain waited a few minutes to make sure Malfoy wasn’t coming back and hadn’t sent for anyone before pulling open the bottom drawer of her desk.

“I’m surprised it worked so well,” she said to herself as she pulled out a small tin with an image of a skull and cross bones and a picture of a rat on it. “I’ll have to remember this for the next time someone expects me to be grateful to them for my job.” 

And with that she put the tin into her bag before calling for the undertaker.

 

~*~

 

Vernon had just been coming around after being hit with a wooden chair while strangling a young boy when the police arrived at the pub. He immediately confessed to attacking the boy but claimed it was not his fault. That some freak had used magic on him to make him attack the boy in the pub.

The police were less pleased when they ran a check on Vernon’s name and discovered he was wanted for questioning about the disappearance of his wife Petunia and nephew Harry Potter and in the murder of his son Dudley and sister Marge.

When Vernon was informed he was wanted for questioning his reaction was less than peaceful. In fact Dursley soon found himself in the psychiatric ward of the local hospital, his arms and legs strapped to the bed to prevent him from harming himself or others.

It was in the middle of the third night since being admitted to the hospital, that Vernon woke suddenly. He looked around half asleep trying to figure out what woke him when he spotted the figure standing in the corner, closest to the windows.

Vernon blinked a couple times to clear the sleep from his eyes then he stared hard at the figure, his eyes narrowing. It was only when the figure shifted slightly allowing the light from the window to highlight its hair that it all came together

“You!” Vernon hissed before he started to scream for help. “Nurse! Nurse, come quick!”

“What is it, Mr. Dursley,” the nurse said in a weary tone of voice

“It’s one of those freaks!” Vernon exclaimed with a nod of his head towards the figure. “Call the police! Have them question him! He can tell you I didn’t do anything! That it’s all the boy’s fault.”

The nurse look in the direction Vernon had indicated. “There is no one there, Mr. Dursley.”

“Are you blind, woman!” Vernon explained. “He’s sitting right there! He has red hair and is wearing a funny type of dress!”

“You must have dreamt it,” the nurse said reassuringly.

“She can’t see me,” the man replied, “or hear me.”

“But she could touch you!” Vernon exclaimed in triumph. “Nurse! Go over to the corner and feel for him. He says you can’t see or hear him but you can touch him.”

The nurse sighed wearily. “Mr. Dursley, it’s very late at night so you’ll have to tell your visitor that it’s after visiting hours and that he’ll have to come back during the day. I’ll make sure to tell the doctor that he was here and see if he’ll prescribe something to help you go back to sleep.”

“I’m not imaging this! He’s right there! And if you would do what I told you to do, you would realize it too,” Vernon spouted.

“Of course, Mr. Dursley. I’ll be back shortly with something to help you sleep,” the nurse said as she exited it room.

“No! You can’t leave me here with him!” Vernon shouted at the closed door. 

Vernon turned back to the wizard in the corner, his head held high in defiance but his eyes betrayed his fear.

The wizard raised his wand and cast a spell at the door. “There, now we can talk without the worry of anyone overhearing.”

“I thought you said that **no** one could hear or see you,” Vernon sneered at the wizard.

“They can’t,” the wizard replied, “but they can hear you. And we don’t want to be interrupted now would we.”

“What happened was that boy’s fault,” Vernon snapped. “If your kind hadn’t left him with us, none of it would have happened.”

The wizard shook his head. “You chose to abuse Harry. You chose to rape him and encourage your son to do the same. Those who placed Harry with you gave you the opportunity but you **chose** to do so.”

“I’m assuming you’re here to kill me like your kind killed my family,” Vernon snarled.

“We didn’t kill your son or your sister,” the wizard declared. The wizard held up his hand to stop Vernon’s protests. “While I will admit they were killed by magic; it was not any witch or wizard who did it.”

“A freak is a freak and a freak was the one who murdered my son and my sister,” Vernon replied.

“And a monster raped and abused a child,” the wizard replied. “I would rather be a freak any day then be a monster like you.”

Vernon sneered at the wizard for calling him a monster but made no reply. Finally he said, “If you’re not here to kill me then why are you here freak? It’s not like I know where that freak boy is or that bitch who was my wife is.”

“Oh I never said I wasn’t here to kill you Dursley, just that we had nothing to do with the death of your son or sister.” The wizard admitted. “I’ve just been trying to figure out how to do it.”

“What! No! You can’t!” Vernon sputtered. “I deserve a trial of my peers. Let them find me guilty or innocent on the evidence.”

“But you have no peers in the wizard world and it’s not like we can expose the Muggle world to the truth about magic. But I do agree about giving you a fair trial,” the wizard said as he stood up. 

“I don’t believe you!” Vernon snarled.

The wizard shrugged his shoulders. “And I don’t care,” he replied. The wizard reached inside his robes and pulled out a small bottle and a syringe. “Have you ever seen the Bond movie, 'Live or Let Die'?”

Vernon glared at the wizard with hatred in his eyes.

“It was the first movie I had ever seen and what led me to become an Unspeakable,” the wizard admitted. “What kid wouldn’t want to be a secret agent, saving the world from the bad guys? Of course that is when I learned about the religion of Voodoo though it is actually pronounced Vodou. Of course my studies led me to the fact that Muggles can make zombies, which actually has nothing to do with the Vodou religion but from Haitian bokor or sorcerers. Of course the Muggle zombies are nothing like the zombies or Inferi a real wizard can create.”

The wizard stuck the syringe into the bottle and withdrew an amount from it. “As I was saying Muggles use a drug that comes from the pufferfish to make a person appear to be dead. Of course I did research into to see if there was a wizard version of this drug since the Muggle version often leads to death and it turns out there is. A potion master created it to be used during surgeries back in the mid-19th century. He was hoping to create a potion which would limit the blood loss during the surgeries unfortunately he didn’t take into account that the patient would be awake and feeling everything during the operation. As you would expect it was viewed as a failure.”

“So that what are you going to do? Make me appear dead and have me buried alive!” Vernon snarled.

“No,” the wizard said with a creepy smile. “This only works on a Muggle for 18 hours after that you wake up perfectly fine. I’m sure they won’t bury you that fast.” 

The wizard injected the potion into the IV port. The silver liquid slowly made its way down the IV line as Vernon watched it with a numb expression.

“I’m told that it doesn’t hurt. Everything just sort of stops. You can see and hear everything around you but you can’t do anything at all and then 18 hours later you can,” the wizard explains. “Of course that all depends on what happens between now and then but I guess that is up to whatever deity you believe in.”

When the nurse came to check on him during her rounds she found Mr. Dursley unresponsive and no longer breathing. A doctor confirmed the time of death. No one noticed the red haired, slightly balding wizard in the corner.

 

~*~

 

16 hours after Vernon Dursley was pronounced dead; his body was laid out on a cold metal table under a bright light.

“A fat one isn’t he,” a male voice said. “I bet you a quid that he died from a heart attack from all that weight.”

“No bet,” another male voice replied. “The real money is one whether or not he had a tumor in his head. This is the bloke that attacked a kid in a pub. His own son and sister were turned into sausages and no one knows what happened to his wife.”

“Blimey!” the first voice said in surprise. “I didn’t think that he was **that** monster.”

“Now gentleman, there is no evidence that said he committed those heinous crime. He was only a suspect,” a new male voice stated.

“Yes, Doctor Salten,” the second voice replied. “But you got to admit he was mixed up in it some way. The stuff I’ve been hearing in the news about the case… well it reminds me of stories of Sweeney Todd and Kate Webster.”

“I know who Sweeney Todd was but who is Kate Webster?” the first male voice asked. “Another fictional character.”

“Kate Webster was a woman in the late 19th century who murdered her employer, dismembered the remains, cooked some of the body down into lard which she then sold to neighbors and disposed of the rest of the body she didn’t cook.”

“I knew I should never have asked!” the first voice grew fainter soon followed by the sounds of a door being shut.

“You would think that after all these years old George would have a stronger stomach,” the second male voice said.

“John, you know better than that,” Dr Salten chastised. “George sees every body that comes in here as a life cut short or as one that lived it to it’s fullest. He doesn’t like to be reminded that sometimes we have to deal with the remains of those who cut other lives short.”

“I’m just saying he needs a thicker skin,” John grumbled.

“And George was the one who helped me with the bus accident last summer,” Dr Salten pointed out.

“But that was one… that one had children,” John said softly.

“That it did,” Dr Salten replied in the same soft tone. “Lets get to work.”

Dr Salten reached up and turned the microphone on. “This is Dr George Salten performing the autopsy on Vernon Dursley of Little Whinging on this date of…”

Dr Salten continued to narrate the external exam of the body. “Alight John. Let cut him open. Scalpel.”

~*~

Epilogue

They said that time heals all wounds and while that isn’t exactly true it was close enough for Harry Potter. 

The Malfoy family donated a loving statue of the Goddess Artemis who was known as the Goddess of the Hunt but also the Goddess of the Children to the Diagon Alley children’s park. 

Tom Riddle was able to keep his dogs of war on the leash long enough for Harry to recover the best he could after the loving care of his family. 

And the day did come when Harry and Tom faced each other on the field of combat. To say the good guy won and the bad guys lost would be a lie. For in war there are no heroes or villains but men and women fighting for what they believe in, fighting for change, fighting for justice for those they lost and for those who have yet to be born.

And with the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort and his followers the war did not end but it changed in form from blood and pain on the battlefields to bargaining and concessions in meetings and behind closed chamber doors. It was many years after Tom’s defeat that the Elizabeth Riddle Children’s Act became law. This simple law insured that all children no matter what their financial income were given the chance to have a magical education, to have a chance at life. The law also made it so that no matter their status in the wizard world, i.e. Pure-blood, Half-blood or Muggle-born they were all charged the same amount for their education.

Seven years after the Elizabeth Riddle Children’s Act was signed one of the Founders fondest dreams became true; Hogwarts was full to capacity.

But as any storyteller knows all of that is another story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post Author Notes:
> 
> Before you start complaining about the ending please understand that this is the ending my Muse had plotted out when she first started to put pen to paper so many years ago.
> 
> The original challenge was to create a fic in which Harry is the main character but said nothing or very little and to make Lord Voldemort into an anti-hero. I think I have achieve that challenge.
> 
> As for why it took so long… once my Muse plotted out the last chapter she went on to other stuff expecting me to follow right behind her unfortunately I’m much slower at type up the story then she is plotting it out so it feel behind. I was given the choice of following her and staying in her good graces or falling behind and have her pissed at me and refusing to tell me anything. Hope you understand why it took so long for me to finished it.


End file.
